Master Goorj oversees Hawks masterclass in Cairns

They might have been away from home for nearly a month, they might have been missing two NBA-experienced stars, they might be reigning wooden spooners and might be a new-look outfit, but The Hawks were brilliant to hand the Cairns Taipans a 92-76 home defeat on Monday night.

The Hawks finished last a season ago before appointing six-time NBL champion Brian Goorjian as coach and then undergoing quite the roster overhaul with only Emmett Naar, AJ Ogilvy and Sam Froling returning.

Add in they've been away from Wollongong now since Boxing Day thanks to COVID-19 restrictions and the fact that two of their best credentialed and experienced players Cam Bairstow and Deng Adel were unavailable, and they had plenty working against them.

That included a Taipans opponent who hadn’t lost in Cairns since December 12, 2019 and who had the majority of their roster back from a semi-final run last season, and who had started off 2021 with a win on Saturday against the Sydney Kings.

But Goorjian isn’t the greatest coach in NBL history for nothing and he had his team playing effective and energetic defence, and then they had a smooth running offence as they led virtually all night on the way to the 16-point victory.

"I'm really proud of the team and I just keep talking about how this group has been since I arrived," Goorjian said.

"I think it's special in terms of closeness, energy, hard work and wanting to get better. My message to them is that this is entertainment and to put that on the floor, and let people see it. 

"We're not going to be perfect and will make mistakes, but we had a couple of setbacks and needed everyone tonight, and to do what we've been doing day to day. I was just so proud of how we did that."

There was so much to like from what The Hawks did but more than anything it was the effort areas they won the game in. They simply appeared to want the game more, they won all the loose balls and as a result won the rebound count, won the possession game and that led to some exciting basketball.

Whether it was Justinian Jessup or Tyler Harvey combining for seven threes or Justin Simon's defence leading to some brilliant offence, or the outside threats creating finishes inside, it was such a well-drilled machine the Hawks had running.

Harvey finished with 25 points and seven assists for The Hawks, Jessup 24 points, four rebounds and three steals while going 4/4 from three-point range, and Simon 10 points, 12 boards, three assists and three blocks.

Sam Froling added 11 points and six rebounds, Deng Deng eight points and four boards, and captain AJ Ogilvy six points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

It wasn’t the night the Snakes were hoping for but Majok Deng scored 20 points and five rebounds, and Kouat Noi 16 points and six boards.

Superstar imports Cam Oliver (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Scott Machado (11 points, 11 assists) still produced double-doubles.

Taipans coach Mike Kelly wasn’t happy with the start where The Hawks were able to build some confidence.

"The Hawks just came in and did whatever they wanted. I think they would have been a little bit surprised at some of the opportunities they had in that first quarter especially," Kelly said.

"That set the table for them and then they just kept going by playing hard. Our energy was good but misplaced it seemed like, we were all over the place and they exploited that. They played really well."

The Hawks made their intentions clear early with Justinian Jessup and Tyler Harvey knocking down threes. When Justin Simon joined in inside along with Sam Froling and Jessup hit another triple, they were up 16-8 early.

It was then a stunning opening to the first quarter with threes to Simon and Harvey with Harvey really starting to feel it in his second NBL game.

That 10-point run had them up 12 and they maintained that edge for most of the second term to be up 50-41 by half-time.

The Hawks then came out with the opening five points of the second half before Jessup nailed another three to blow it out to a 15-point ball game. 

Majok Deng led a fightback for Cairns with the gap back to seven, but The Hawks had the answers including just on quarter-time when Simon blocked a three attempt from Deng and slammed it home up the other end. 

When Jessup hit a couple more threes, The Hawks led by as much as 20 down the stretch before settling on the 16-point win in the first ever 2-0 Round 1 start in club history dating back to 1979.

The Hawks now head back to Brisbane to play the Bullets on Thursday while the Taipans remain in Cairns to host the Sydney Kings on Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 1

THE HAWKS 92 (Harvey 25, Jessup 24, Froling 11) 

CAIRNS TAIPANS 76 (Deng 20, Noi 16, Oliver 16)

BOX SCORE