Hawks show growth with clutch Christmas win over Kings

Thursday, December 28, 2023

The growth of Illawarra under new coach Justin Tatum has continued with a 94-90 come-from-behind win.

The Illawarra Hawks continue to show how far they have come under new coach Justin Tatum with a gritty 94-90 win over the defending champion Sydney Kings on Christmas at Qudos Bank Arena.

Sydney have won the past two NBL championships and had the wood over their nearest neighbour winning eight straight against Illawarra. This is a different Hawks team since Tatum replaced Jacob Jackomas over the past six games though.

Illawarra had won three of the first four and then put in a disappointing showing on Saturday at home to lose to the Tasmania JackJumpers. Their resilience and hunger, however, was on show in front of 8578 fans against the Kings on Christmas evening.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adams is cooking on Christmas ?<br><br>1??6?? points going into half-time ?<br><br>Watch the NBL on Christmas Day Live and Free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies / 10 Peach & 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/P2HFPxaJG7">pic.twitter.com/P2HFPxaJG7</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1739219736200724978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was that determination and focus that was crucial to the Hawks getting the win that has been dramatically improved under Tatum. In the end, the two biggest plays of the game to seal the win showed that.

It started with an offensive rebound from Next Star Lachlan Olbrich to set up veteran import forward Gary Clark to hit the go-ahead basket with 34 seconds remaining.

Up the other end, sharpshooter Hyunjung Lee was determined to grab the defensive rebound which led to Justin Robinson icing the game at the foul line and the Hawks beat the Kings for the first time since April 24, 2022.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LEE FOR THHREEEE??<br><br>? Watch live on ESPN via KayoFreebies<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeRiseTogether?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeRiseTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/WvgOe3jYke">pic.twitter.com/WvgOe3jYke</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1739215555432005767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The victory improves the Hawks to 6-9 on the season with four wins from six games under Tatum, and they had to overcome an 18-point deficit in the second quarter to do it.

They were back within two by half-time and then closed the job finishing with eight of the last 10 points with Sam Froling leading the charge with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Tyler Harvey hit four three-pointers for 15 points with Robinson adding 14 points and five assists, Lee 13 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting, and Olbrich nine points and 10 rebounds.

Tatum trumpeted the efforts of 19-year-old Olbrich post-match.

"Lachie Olbrich was MVP tonight and we told him that at half-time, and at the end of the game," Tatum said.

"He was the reason it started that spark for us and he came in and gave us some energy, and life.

"He's the MVP of this and that's what special about this group, you don't know who is going to show up and guys are going to be ready when they get the opportunity."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tyler Harvey has that Polar Express magic ? <br><br>Watch the NBL on Christmas Day Live and Free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies / 10 Peach & 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/ZfryTwuXoW">pic.twitter.com/ZfryTwuXoW</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1739208241639223550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It's a double loss round for Sydney on the back of losing to New Zealand on Friday with the reigning champs slipping to 9-8.

Jaylen Adams top-scored with 22 points and five assists with DJ Hogg adding 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Kouat Noi 14 points.

Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah pointed to conceding 18 offensive rebounds to the Hawks for 16 second chance points as the major difference.

"Kudos to them, but the difference in the game was that they outrebounded us," he said.

"It's a bit about effort, understand and being in the correct spots on the floor with the rotations, and knowing where you're supposed to be at and when, and who you're guarding."

HUNGRY JACKS NBL ROUND 12

SYDNEY KINGS 90 (Adams 22, Hogg 15, Noi 14 )

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 94 (Froling 20, Harvey 15, Clark, Lee 13)

BOX SCORE