The 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.
