Illawarra Hawks are within touching distance of their first NBL grand final since 2017 after riding a 21-0 scoring run to a 101-94 win over South East Melbourne Phoenix in Game 1 of their semi-final series in Wollongong.

The Hawks went 1-0 up in the best-of-three series thanks to a game-changing 32-12 third quarter at a sold-out WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

Star import guards Trey Kell and Tyler Harvey scored 24 points apiece for Illawarra, while veteran Todd Blanchfield contributed 16 off the bench.

“The defence really ignited us,” Hawks coach Justin Tatum said. “We just had to calm down and get rolling.

“It was just our guys getting the nerves and jitters out of them and finding a way to execute.”

Import Joe Wieskamp paced the Phoenix with 22 points, Nathan Sobey added 17 and Derrick Walton Jr had 15 points and 11 assists in his return from a 48-day lay-off with a hamstring injury.

Top seed Illawarra, playing their first game in 21 days, led 31-27 at the end of a high-octane opening term.

Defence continued to be at a premium throughout the first half, which had 10 lead changes, before SEM broke the shackles late.

The Phoenix held sway 61-54 at the end of the second quarter, which they finished with a 14-3 flourish, capped by Walton’s ninth assist for Wieskamp’s dunk on the half-time horn.

Wieskamp scored twice to start the third before the Hawks seized total control.

Harvey tied the score at 65-all after drilling three straight three-pointers in the space of 66 seconds, before Illawarra motored further clear as the visitors came to a complete standstill at both ends.

In a heartbeat, the Hawks turned a 54-65 deficit into a 75-65 lead and ultimately an 86-73 three-quarter-time cushion.

SEM chipped away at the deficit in the fourth and closed the gap to six points before Harvey took a charge on Sobey, then hit successive free throws to effectively seal victory.

“Second-chance points, transition baskets, ball got sticky – it was a huge punch,” Phoenix coach Josh King said of his side’s third-quarter breakdown.

“It was a fight and that was the knockout blow.

“Credit to our guys for sticking with it.

“They protected homecourt, now we’ve got to go protect ours. That’s playoff basketball.”

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is at John Cain Arena on Sunday.

Goulding too cool for Cats

Chris Goulding has delivered a shooting masterclass to steer Melbourne United to a one-game lead in their NBL semi-final series, continuing their domination over Perth Wildcats on Thursday night.

Heading into the best of three series, United boasted a 3-0 head-to-head record this season and were able to stretch it to four with a 105-93 victory on Thursday night at John Cain Arena.

Goulding was almost unstoppable, piling on 41 points including 10 three-pointers which equalled the NBL finals record – and he did it in only 24 minutes of action due to foul trouble.

Game two is in Perth on Saturday night, with Melbourne able to reach their second straight title decider with victory, with Illawarra and South East Melbourne squaring off in the other semi-final.

Goulding incurred three fouls and went down the tunnel before halftime to try to get “into a better mental space”. 

“I’m disappointed – I put myself and my team in that position to get three fouls and be limited in how much Dean (coach Dean Vickerman) could play me,” the 36-year-old said post match.

“I just needed 10-15 seconds to gather my mind and then come back out and be a positive influence for the guys.”

Vickerman praised the contribution of his skipper to take control of the match, while import guard Ian Clark also tipped in a valuable 22 points.

“CG broke the game open in the third, let’s not sugarcoat it in any way,” the coach said.

“He did a hell of a job, they screened for him well (but) him and IC were both elite tonight at scoring the basketball – it was a pretty special performance to watch tonight.”

United got off to the best possible start with Goulding draining his first triple after 12 seconds, and they pushed the lead out to 10 points before the Wildcats clawed their way back to trail 23-17 after the first quarter.

Key to Melbourne’s lead was the ability of the league’s defensive player of the year Shea Ili tagging Bryce Cotton and restricting the NBL’s Most Valuable Player to four points.

Cotton still managed to finish with 22, as did Kristian Doolittle, while Keanu Pinder topped his team’s tally with 24.

The Wildcats found their rhythm and levelled with two minutes on the clock before a Dylan Windler free throw ensured Perth went into halftime with a 50-49 lead.

But Goulding caught fire in the third quarter with the dead-eye veteran nailing four three-pointers among his tally of 15 and United steaming ahead 81-71.

Perth also lost Tai Webster to a shoulder injury which looked like it could threaten his finals campaign.

Despite that disruption the Wildcats, hunting their first title since 2019, showed their class and piled on the first nine points of the final term to turn up the pressure on the home side.

But with Goulding leading the way, United were able to again kick away.

Perth coach John Rillie lamented his team’s poor third quarter which breathed life back in Melbourne, and agreed they didn’t do enough to stop the United sharp-shooter.

“No,” Rilley replied when asked if they did a good job on Goulding.

“It was undisciplined in the third quarter and it cost our team probably a little momentum in the game.

“If we’re functioning at a high level, we’re a good team and hard to beat, so I need our team functioning at the best level that they can.”

© AAP