League-leading Hawks demolish 'Cats

The Perth Wildcats could do nothing about Trey Kell III and Tyler Harvey in the back court, and Sam Froling inside, as the NBL leading Illawarra Hawks put on another spectacle with the pre-Christmas 120-88 Sunday thumping.

The Hawks were back home at the WIN Entertainment Centre wearing their special Christmas jerseys averaging 109 points over the past four matches, and they showed no mercy.

The Wildcats arrived with Bryce Cotton averaging 48 points over his past four games, but they were playing a third of seven straight away games, and doing so without Kristian Doolittle and Tai Webster.

Cotton did produce 13 points again in the first quarter for the Wildcats, but the Hawks led by Wani Swaka Lo Buluk kept the four-time MVP scoreless from there and Illawarra did as they pleased offensively.

The Hawks piled on 37 points in the first quarter and then with another 26 in the second they were leading 63-48 by the half in their highest-scoring first 20 minutes of the season.

They went into the break with 22 points from Kell and 11 from Harvey with the pair shooting 6/10 from three between them while the home team had 14 second chance points to seven, 14 points off turnovers to six and attempted 10 extra shots.

It was more of the same in the second half with the Hawks blowing the margin out to 36 points and ending up at 32 to make it three straight and maintain top spot at 11-5.

Illawarra ended up shooting 54 per cent from the floor, 13/34 from deep and 21/27 at the free-throw line to go with 29 second chance points from 20 offensive rebounds, and 22 points from the 17 Perth turnovers.

Kell had an NBL career-high 31 points with five rebounds and five assists while Froling delivered 18 points and six rebounds, Harvey 15 points, five boards and four assists, and Darius Days 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.

"To hold somebody as exceptionally great offensively as Bryce is, it's kudos to the team," Hawks coach Justin Tatum.

"We know that Bryce is like a microwave, he's cooking right now. And it's great to see as a fan.

"But when we're playing against him, we want to make everything difficult."

The Wildcats are now 10-9 while right in the middle of their road stretch with Cotton going scoreless over the last three quarters to finish with 13 points on 5/16 shooting.

Keanu Pinder top-scored with 16 points and three assists with Elijah Pepper providing 11 points on 2/4 three-point shooting, Michael Harris 11 points on 3/4 from downtown in just 10 minutes, and Dylan Windler 10 points and four rebounds.

"The easy answer is it's a blip," Wildcats coach John Rillie said.

"We looked at this as a great challenge to see where we are at the moment, and we came up very short today.

"That's a very good reminder in this league that if you get a little ahead of yourself or you think things are going too good, you get smacked in the mouth like that."

Illawarra did open up with the first five points but Perth worked back into the contest from there including five straight points from David Okwera who was in the starting line-up.

Despite Bryce Cotton putting up 13 points on 5/8 shooting for the 'Cats, the Hawks were in control at 37-28 by quarter-time including finishing the term with a 10-2 run that included three-pointers from Darius Days and Tyler Harvey.

Trey Kell III opened the second term with another three-pointer before the Hawks went on a 10-2 run to blow the game out to a 16-point advantage. It was still 63-48 by half-time with Kell having 22 points by the break and Illawarra in control despite Perth shooting 63 per cent.

The Hawks further broke the spirit of the Wildcats to start the second half with Sam Froling scoring inside on three consecutive possessions with the home team's lead growing to 20.

Another seven straight Illawarra points including a three ball to Days saw it out to 25. With the Hawks again holding Cotton scoreless for a second straight quarter, they were in control at 89-63 by three quarter-time.

It was celebration time in the 'Gong throughout the fourth quarter three days from Christmas as the home team cruised to the eventual 32-point victory to ensure their spot is secure on top of the NBL.

The Hawks now prepare for their Christmas night extravaganza against the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena while the Wildcats remain on the road on Saturday against the Adelaide 36ers.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 120 (Kell III 31, Froling 18, Harvey 15)

PERTH WILDCATS 88 (Pinder 16, Cotton 13, M Harris 11, Pepper 11)

BOX SCORE