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Illawarra have beaten Sydney for the second time this season as they outlasted their New South Wales rivals 96-90 at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
In a game that changed leads multiple times the Kings would be dissapointed with the amount of turnovers they gave away, as they wasted 18 possessions compared to the Hawks’ nine
“We gotta be ready to go at all times, because teams this year, they’re not going to give you a chance,” Kings guard Jason Cadee said.
“You gotta roll with it, otherwise you’re going to lose quick.”
It took a late tip in from AJ Ogilvy to secure a hard earned win for the home side, and the in-form centre secured another double-double as he finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Ogilvy had some real work on his hands as he faced a huge challenge from Julian Khazzouh and Josh Childress.
The Kings were hoping for a turnaround in form with their star player returning from injury.
Childress took a while to warm up, hitting his first bucket in the second quarter, however the Hawks did a great job on the Sydney live-wire keeping the forward to just eight points in the first half.
“You could see he’s had a bit of a layoff but he was still effective, he had 15 boards and that has been an issue for us… he’ll get better and better as time goes on,” Kings coach Damien Cotter said.
However Childress went to work on the glass finishing with 15 rebounds, almost half of his team’s total. It was a mixed game for the former NBA star’s standards but he finished with a respectable 20 points.
“He [Childress] is the best open court player I have ever seen, he’s just special that’s why he has been in the NBA,” Hawks coach Rob Beveridge said.
“I felt in that second and third quarter he had his way against us… I was really pleased in that last quarter we were definitely a lot better defensively and we tried to pack it in a bit.”
It was on the perimeter where the Hawks dominated as they hit 13 three-pointers, compared to the Kings’ 8, along with a huge chunk of their points coming from outside the key.
Illawarra shooting guard Kirk Penney provided most of the options for the Hawks offence, making 24 points, including five three-pointers. He also turned provider as he produced eight assists.
Despite sitting in fifth, the Hawks have been lighting it up on offence this year.
“We are the lead scoring team in the league that’s a fact, we’re the best three-point shooting team, best free-throw shooting team and we’re in the top four in field goal percentage,” Beveridge said.
“We’re doing some really good stuff for a team that’s in its infancy right now.”
The Hawks are now five and six with another home fixture to come this Saturday against the Townsville Crocs, while the Kings are now anchored to the bottom of the NBL table with three wins and nine losses.
“We just got to stick together… when you’re missing Josh Childress, the game he played he had a broken hand for three quarters,” Cotter said.
“Now we have a chance to get him back in the game and be a team again.”
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