Frustrated Tatum backs Hawks' response

The Illawarra Hawks haven't lost consecutive games yet in 2025 and Justin Tatum is confident it won't start in Game 4 of the Championship Series despite his frustrations from the Game 3 loss.

The Hawks led by 10 on Sunday early in the fourth quarter of Game 3 at the WIN Entertainment Centre but Melbourne United went on a 20-4 run from there to take the 2-1 series lead.

There were concerns afterwards for coach Tatum including an apparent knee injury to Trey Kell III along with his team shooting just 43 per cent, going 8/36 from deep and getting to the foul line only eight times. 

Add in only four points from Melbourne turnovers and two fast break points, but Tatum remains confident of winning at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night to force the decider back in the 'Gong next Sunday.

"It's a five-game series and we play again on Wednesday," Tatum said.

"The season's not over and we got them at their place last time just like they've got us at our place twice. The first person who wins at home, wins the series right so we'll see you in Melbourne.

"We just have to make sure the ball goes in more and be more consistent on the offensive end by setting solid screens, and hopefully shoot more than eight free throws in 40 minutes, and we'll figure it out."

Not only did the Hawks give up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but also lost their All-First Team point guard Kell III to what appears to be a knee injury.

Tatum isn’t sure yet what his availability will be for Wednesday's Game 4, but he wasn’t thrilled that play was allowed to continue after he went down with Matthew Dellavedova going on to make three free throws.

"It's his knee and we're the only person that cares, and we wanted to make sure he was OK and off the court before the other team attempts free throws or does anything else," Tatum said.

"We just wanted to make sure our player was OK. He slipped similar to what Delly did when they stopped the whole game and almost had a holiday to make sure he was OK.

"Unfortunately when somebody on my team gets hurt, we can't look out after them or can't make sure they're off the court. At the end of the day, that's just the difference in respect between Melbourne and the Hawks."