Mitsubishi Match Recap: Hungry Jack’s NBL26 - Round 13, Game 1 v Illawarra Hawks

Melbourne United have taken down the Illawarra Hawks by 22 points in front of their home crowd on Thursday evening.

Looking to get going from deep early, Tanner Krebs opened United’s account from beyond the arc, which Tyson Walker emulated a few possessions later.

This seemed to spark the home side on the other end of the court, forcing the Hawks into four turnovers, including an eight-second violation.

With the Illawarra defence focussed on the three-ball, the likes of Shea Ili and Jesse Edwards, as well as Walker and Krebs, enjoyed success inside the arc, propelling Melbourne up by as many as six points.

The Hawks were able to hit back, however a late triple from Walker kept United in front 24-20 to close the quarter.

It didn’t take Melbourne long to extend their lead out beyond 10 points as Walker and Finn Delany combined to outscore the Hawks 10-2 in the opening minutes of the second period.

Some buckets in the paint, as well as an enormous block from Edwards helped this lead grow, as did a ridiculous feed from Walker to Krebs for a corner three-ball.

Illawarra hit back late in the term though, going on a 7-0 run of their own, slowing Melbourne’s momentum.

The home side took a further hit to close the quarter, as Shea Ili found himself ruled out of the rest of the game with a hamstring injury.

Despite this, a tip in from Fabijan Krslovic and free throws from Edwards kept United ahead, holding a 47-41 advantage.

Mirroring the second quarter, Melbourne found themselves able to push the lead out in the third period, only for the Hawks to claw their way back within striking distance.

Delany was able to produce a number of highlights, scoring in the post and cashing in from deep all before he produced the play of the night, a thunderous slam dunk which brought the crowd to its feet.

Three-pointers from Krslovic and Krebs held Illawarra at bay, while Walker continued his strong performance, increasing his points total with some creative finishes around the basket.

This allowed United to stay open up a 74-67 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Eager to not allow a third consecutive game to go to overtime, Melbourne crushed the Hawks in the final term.

United outscored Illawarra 23-8 across the fourth, getting contributions from across the roster.

Dash Daniels connected from deep on his 18th birthday, Milton Doyle scored all nine of his points for the game in the period, while Tom Wilson put the icing on the cake, sinking a deep triple.

Ultimately, Melbourne finished at 22-point victors, improving their overall record to 14-6.

Melbourne United will be back on the court for their final home game in 2025 on Tuesday 23 December for The Open Air Game against the Tasmania JackJumpers from 8pm.

Tickets are nearly all gone, so get in quickly to secure your seat.

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