Kings thrash Hawks as momentum builds

The Sydney Kings made it four straight wins as they begin a month-long road stand with five in-a-row away from home with a dominant showing from go to woe beating the defending champion Illawarra Hawks 98-71.

Illawarra coach Justin Tatum suffered his first loss to Sydney, with the Hawks comprehensively outplayed by their NBL arch-rivals in the 27-point defeat.

The championship coach had an unblemished record from six matches against the Kings since taking over Illawarra in 2023, but the Hawks were well off the pace in their Sunday afternoon clash at WIN Entertainment Centre.

It was a surprisingly down showing from Illawarra who had appeared to be figuring things out in their championship defence in last up wins against Melbourne United and the Cairns Taipans.

Despite missing Boomers star Matthew Dellavedova through illness and veteran Shaun Bruce to a calf injury, the Kings were able to stretch their winning streak to four games.

With Kings coach Brian Goorjian orchestrating a defensive masterclass, the Hawks had their lowest-scoring half of the season and trailed 53-32 at the break, with the telling statistic being their 13 turnovers - which blew out to 26 for the match.

There was no love lost between the NSW teams with Xavier Cooks given a technical foul for an "act of violence" with just over three minutes left in the half when he offered a hand to help Davo Hickey up from the floor.

When it was ignored by the championship hero, skipper Cooks pushed the knee of Hickey, who dramatically fell backwards.

Hawks 450-game milestone man Todd Blanchfield and Kings rival Kouat Noi were then also given technical fouls after they had to be separated following a scuffle on the deck.

Illawarra went on a nine-point run to open the third quarter and pegged the margin back to 12 points.

But the Kings regrouped and led 71-50 heading into the final term with their bench contributing in an all-team showing.

The Hawks' hopes of a fightback took a major hit with their three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee fouled out with 8:44 left on the clock.

Averaging 23.1 points and 10.5 rebounds, the gold medallist left the Wollongong court with just nine points and nine rebounds.

Sydney had plenty of contributors with Kendric Davis top-scoring with 17 points and eight assists despite shooting 6/15 from the field.

Tyler Robertson stepped up in the absence of Dellavedova to hit four triples for 14 points despite having just scored 11 points all season so far.

Cooks also produced 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Bul Kuol 12 points, six rebounds and five steals to go with some standout defence.

The Hawks are now 4-7 with the loss on shooting 35 per cent from the field with 26 turnovers with Hickey top-scoring with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists with Tyler Harvey adding 18 points and four boards, and QJ Peterson 10 points and four rebounds.

The Hawks now have a quick turnaround to taking on the Adelaide 36ers on the road as part of the Ignite Cup this Wednesday while the Kings have a full week before being away to the Tasmania JackJumpers next Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 71 (Hickey 19, Harvey 18, Peterson 10)

SYDNEY KINGS 98 (Davis 17, Robertson 14, Cooks 13)

BOX SCORE