Hawks move to 3-0 to open #NBL21 in Brisbane

The Hawks might want to adopt Queensland as their home away from home after claiming their third consecutive win to open #NBL21 with their 90-82 victory over the Brisbane Bullets.

Last year's wooden spooners have suddenly become the team to beat with a 3-0 start to the season with all three games on the road north of the border with a win in Cairns either side of the two W's against the Bullets at Nissan Arena.

Sure, the Bullets were without crucial big man Matt Hodgson (calf) once again, but the Hawks were playing their third game in eight days and were without Adel Deng and Cameron Bairstow. On top of that, they've been away from Wollongong still since Boxing Day.

Brisbane challenged them hard in the first quarter but not even a 13-point deficit could phase the Hawks as they lifted for coach Brian Goorjian and backed their defence to turn the tide. Turn the tide they did.

Tyler Harvey was the axeman for the Hawks with 20 points by half-time on his way to 31 for the match.

Captain AJ Ogilvy showed his rejuvenation with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Golden State Warriors Next Star Justinian Jessup backed up his 24 points on Monday with another 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Goorjian praised his side's resilience for weathering the early Bullets storm and grinding their way back into the contest.

"I thought tonight we walked into a team that we beat that had a week to sit here and prepare for us, licking their chops," he said.

"They came out with their fist clenched and came after us hard and got on top of us. I thought as a team, as in Cairns, showed tremendous character and fought back.

"We didn't let it go, we stayed in it, we stayed competitive, we took our punches, settled the game and got back into it."

When the Bullets were at their best, they were sparkling. When they were off, they were bullied by the Hawks. Bullied by the team regarded as easybeats last season who have turned out to be anything but this time around.

Nathan Sobey (24), Vic Law (16) and Orlando Johnson (11) did their bit and young centre Tyrell Harrison toiled with eight points and 10 rebounds in the absence of Hodgson, but every time an opportunity presented to take the lead they were found wanting.

Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis isn't hoisting the white flag just yet and said a lack of preparation had played its part in Brisbane's slow start to the season.

"I thought there were lots of positives tonight, a lot to take from that and I am confident that we can be a decent basketball team," he said.

"We haven't been together that long, our imports haven't been here that long and I think we have had two full practices as a team. We've got to get healthy, that's the first thing, get everybody on the court and find our rhythm and rotations.

"The way we started was great but we had limited rotations tonight to sustain that level of intensity, we got a bit tired and that maybe contributed to that shooting (6/32 from beyond the arc)."

Sensing tired legs, the Bullets pressed their offence to great success and opened up a 14-7 lead midway through the first term. The Hawks tried to fight fire with fire but it was the home side with the upper hand and a Sobey steal and bucket quickly pushed the lead out to double digits. 

The suffocating defence from Brisbane meant the Hawks' clip fell to almost 20 per cent and it was the home side with a commanding 23-13 lead.

The Bullets court and hand speed continued at a blistering pace but the Hawks found some extra pep in their step to match them and begin to grind their way back into the contest. 

The pressure meant the Bullets shots started to rim out and after a period of grinding, a Hervey triple from the carpark slashed the margin back to just two points.

It was a complete role reversal as the Hawks used pressure defence to routinely turn the ball over and the scores were even at half-time with the visitors on the front foot.

This energy ramped up in the third quarter as the Hawks turned a 13-point deficit into a five-point advantage and suddenly the Bullets were struggling to find an answer at all for the rampant attack that was right in their faces.

A late Brisbane steal gave them the momentum for a brief second, it was the visitors who took a 65-62 lead into the final break. 

When Jessup buried his second triple to push the Hawks lead out to seven, it began to look like goodnight nurse for the Bullets. But they found their own dose of intensity and Sobey rammed home two dunks that brought his side back to within a single point.

Brisbane was unable to find the bullet to finish the Hawks, though, and have been consigned to an 0-2 start to the season.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 2

THE HAWKS 90 (Harvey 31, Ogilvy 14, Jessup 10)

BRISBANE BULLETS 82 (Sobey 24, Law 16, Johnson 11) 

BOX SCORE