"Resilience and grit": Hawks pass title test

Melbourne, Perth, then Sydney in back-to-back games; when it comes to strutting its championship credentials, Illawarra is passing every test with flying colours. 

A three-point win over their cross-state rivals in a fiery Christmas encounter was the Hawks’ latest tick, with Justin Tatum’s men able to stand tall, even as the Kings surged late. 

“It was a game that showed us our grit, that if we wanted to become a championship team, this is the type of game we needed to win,” Tatum said. 

“Not because it’s the Sydney Kings, not because it’s on Christmas Day, but mainly because we played a couple of nights before, we know what was at stake with this game trying to get the Freeway Series back down to the ‘Gong and just at the end of the day, we’ve got to fight through the resilience.”

Tatum and star guard Tyler Harvey admitted the Hawks looked a little fatigued, backing up from a huge win over Perth, but ultimately got the job done in a high-pressure environment.

He compared the Christmas night blockbuster to a Final, such was the intensity from both teams.

“Early on, every time I looked up they were shooting free throws, then we were shooting free throws ... there was no flow to the game early on,” he said. 

“It was sort of like playoff basketball. I told the guys pre-game ‘it’s going to be a playoff game atmosphere and physicality’, but you have to win those games.

“You can’t lay down. They made a run late, but we found a way to win, with fatigued legs and mental mistakes.”

“You see some of my guys missing layups, or a foul prone first quarter ... we talked about, these the type of things we’ve got to fight through to become a championship team, and we did pretty well,” Tatum continued. 

Illawarra has now won four straight games and sits three games clear on top of the NBL standings. The Hawks recorded 100-plus points for the sixth straight game, a feat not replicated by the club since 2006. 

But Tatum says his team won’t be getting stuck chasing records or letting complacency cree in.

“We want one thing and that’s in March, so just keep working towards it,” he added.

The Hawks now travel to Brisbane to face the Bullets on Friday night, before hosting the Phoenix on New Year’s Eve.