Sitting seventh with a 10-16 record after shooting down the Bullets, they are still a decent chance of qualifying for the top-six playoffs with seven matches remaining on their schedule as they try to reel in the Tasmania JackJumpers.
But after an up and down campaign, they need to string together more performances like their 113-75 road win over the Bullets on Monday night.
It was their biggest win of the season, coming on the back of last Friday’s announcement by the NSW Government that WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong would be rebuilt into a new facility which would nearly double capacity to 9500 spectators.
The Government has announced a $17 million to develop a business plan as part of the revamp of the city’s sports and entertainment precinct.
WIN Stadium will also be getting a facelift with a new grandstand at the northern end, an upgrade for a reconfigured southern stand, a southern plaza to replace the training oval and a beach promenade to be constructed behind the eastern hill.
For the Hawks, the stadium upgrade helps secure the team’s long-term future and is a win for fans with the arena regularly sold out over the past couple of seasons.
Their win over the Bullets was their biggest of the season and after a slow start, the bench got the Hawks going with a 12-2 run to lift them to a 22-11 lead by the end of the first term, restricting Brisbane to their lowest opening quarter of the season.
Back-up forward Daniel Grida suffered a bleeding nose midway through the second quarter but shook it off to keep the defence guessing with a series of cuts, a dunk and offensive rebounds.
Davo Hickey extended the lead to 29–11 with a three-pointer and a drive to the hoop as part of his 17-point, seven-assist display.
The Hawks led 55–31 at the main break and with Todd Blanchfield heating up, they pushed the lead out to as high as 48 points with seven players in double figures.
Star import JaVale McGee registered 18 points and 10 rebounds while draining seven of his eight field goal attempts, with a couple of rim-rattling dunks thrown in for good measure.
Hawks captain Tyler Harvey added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists while fellow guard QJ Peterson made it at least three triples in six consecutive games after nailing three of his four attempts from beyond the arc in his haul of 15 points.
Illawarra set a new NBL record for the most consecutive free throws made in a game without a miss by sinking all 27 of their shots, breaking the previous record of 25 set by the Melbourne TIgers in 1994.
The 38-point margin was the Hawks’ biggest road win since 2003 and their 41 points in the third term was their highest in any quarter in the 10-minute format era since 2010.
Their upcoming schedule won’t be easy with a derby trip to Sydney on Thursday night before Saturday’s showdown with Perth in Wollongong.
They are back home next Thursday against Adelaide before crossing the Tasman to take on the Breakers in New Zealand two days later.