Hawks secure fairytale finals return

From the bottom of the league to the NBL semi finals, Brian Goorjian’s Illawarra Hawks sealed their fairytale return to the post-season with an 81-79 win over Perth Wildcats on Tuesday night.

The Hawks were back on their home court at the WIN Entertainment Centre on a three-game winning streak knowing they had to win one of their remaining two games to guarantee a final spot, while a win on Tuesday would also put them in the box seat to stay third.

However, no team in the league knows just what a challenge it is to beat the Wildcats even on your home floor and even if they are missing injured superstar Bryce Cotton.

Even with Goorjian in charge, Illawarra had yet to beat the Wildcats so far in #NBL21 but this was their first game at home against the two-time defending champs, and they came out victorious but typically it went down to the wire.

Few things are won in the NBL without beating the Wildcats and the reigning champions took this game right down the last possession for it to be decided.

The Hawks finish in the top-four takes Goorjian to his 21st consecutive finals campaign in the NBL after his return home from 11 years coaching in China.

MVP candidate Tyler Harvey scored a game-high 27 points including two clutch threes in the final minutes for the Hawks.

Wildcats captain Jesse Wagstaff gave his side a chance to win with his own outside shooting but he couldn’t make a contested corner three with 12 seconds to play that would have put his team ahead on the night he passed Shawn Redhage to move to second on the club's all-time games played list.

Clint Steindl led the Wildcats with 15 points while John Mooney had 14 points and 15 rebounds as their side won bench scoring 40-26.

Illawarra reserve forward Deng Deng had his own fairytale performance with 11 points, four steals and two blocks using his length and athleticism to repeatedly win plays for his team.

Goorjian praised his players and dismissed his own personal milestone of reaching his 21st consecutive post-season.

"This is a pursuit of this moment and it’s totally brand new with a new a totally group of guys. How many we won or what I did in the past, as far as this is concerned, if I was worried about that then I wouldn’t have got back into it," Goorjian said.

"I’m so excited about being with a new organisation, a great city and starting from last place and building something new with this group. I feel like it’s my first one tonight. I feel like it’s a brand new experience."

Goorjian said he was taking in the moment and celebrating with the club and the community.

"For once this year, I’m kind of lost for words. I knew tonight was going to be tough. All the things Perth represents is the advantage of years, of tradition, they are so far further down the road than we are right now," he said.

"So tonight was about competitive spirit, about culture, about young guys that are just excited in the moment. Basketball is strategy but tonight it came down to a passion within the group about not wanting to lose."

Goorjian praised the impact of unheralded reserves like Deng on the win.

"The guy I grabbed first after the game was Deng Deng. He has been a little bit down but I told him we would need him as this thing goes on," Goorjian added.

"Make sure you keep defending and rebounding and tonight he was so engaged and so tough defensively that I didn’t want to take him off the floor."

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson said his side paid dearly for their turnovers but was proud of how they are adjusting to life without Cotton.

"We were loose with the ball, I thought turnovers really hurt us," Gleeson said.

"There were a number of plays in the second quarter when we just turned the ball over and gave them easy points. You can’t do that away from home. We have to be smarter with the ball.

"We are still navigating without Bryce. In a crunch situation like that we have always given the ball to Bryce, he gets double-teamed and finds the open player.

"We have to navigate without that but our effort and intensity were great and that’s something that will hold us in great stead going into the playoffs."

Harvey burned early for the Hawks with eight points as his side took a 20-16 lead into quarter-time but Perth's newest star Will Magnay found his range to break a 64-minute scoreless run to boost his confidence.

The Wildcats rode the offensive rebounds in the second term and some timely bench points but the quality of Harvey and some bench points from Isaac White and Deng saw the Hawks up 42-36 at half-time.

Perth came out hot in the third to tie the scores at 44-44 and force Hawks coach Goorjian to call a time out but it settled his side who again burst out to a lead.

Sam Froling threw down a powerful one-hand dunk with Magnay on his hip late in the quarter but Steindl nailed a corner jumper just before the buzzer to cut the Hawks’ lead to 61-56 heading into the last term.

Wagstaff and Mooney scored early in the last to tie the scores setting the stage for a pulsating finale.

Wagstaff swished another three to put the Wildcats up 74-71 with two minutes to play while Mooney had a final second three to win the game but it bounced out.

Both teams have one game to play in the regular season with the Hawks at home to the Sydney Kings on Thursday while the Wildcats host Melbourne United on Friday, but either way they appeared destined for a sixth playoff clash with another in the past 12 years.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 21

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 81 (Harvey 27, Froling 14, Jessup 12)

PERTH WILDCATS 79 (Steindl 15, Mooney 14, Wagstaff 12) 

BOX SCORE