WWAG NBL24 Match Recap - Playoffs Game 1 vs Illawarra Hawks

In front of another huge crowd, United and the Hawks started the game in frantic fashion, scoring quickly at both ends.

Luke Travers, Chris Goulding and Matthew Dellavedova all cashed in from deep, helping to keep up with Illawarra’s hot shooting, while Ian Clark worked his way inside for a tough layup plus the foul.

Late scores from Kyle Bowen and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr allowed Melbourne to wrestle back some momentum from the visitors, who connected on 10 of their first 16 shots to take a 29-25 advantage into quarter time.

Needing to keep their run going, Travers skied high to finish a slick alley-oop pass from Dellavedova, who connected on his second triple shortly afterwards.

The NBA championship winner quickly put together an elite stat-line before half-time, tallying 15 points and five assists in his 14 minutes.

This, combined with some tough shot-making from the likes of Shea Ili and Ariel Hukporti allowed United to pull ahead by as many as seven points.

Not willing to go away, the Hawks hit back swiftly, knocking down shots from all over the court to retake the lead going into the major break.

Coming out of half-time, Illawarra’s elite scoring continued, while United appeared to slow slightly, allowing the Hawks to open up their lead to 10 points.

Gary Clark and Sam Froling combined for 41 points through the first three periods, feasting on good looks in the paint.

This advantage only grew to start the fourth period, as Illawarra pulled 16 points in front on the back of triples from Froling and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.

Needing their best to come back, United's stars went to work.

Dellavedova connected on another triple, Clark floated the ball high for a score, Ili got to the hoop for a layup and Goulding got to his spot for a mid-range jumper all within just over a minute to reduce the gap to just nine points.

The energy on the court was matched by the energy in the stands, as the over 8,000 fans inside JCA helped fuel Melbourne on their run.

Another Clark floater, another Goulding three and another JLA layup brought it all the way back to a two-point game before Travers skied high for a dunk to tie the scores at 98 with less than a minute remaining.

A tough bucket from Illawarra’s Davo Hickey and an unfortunate United turnover put the home side in a precarious position with 18 seconds remaining, however the game was far from done.

Needing a steal, Dellavedova out-muscled Justin Robinson for a 50/50 ball, allowing Melbourne to go the length of the floor for a Goulding layup for the tying bucket.

With just four seconds remaining, the Hawks weren’t able to win the matchup in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

Having already put together super showings, the overtime period turned into the Dellavedova and Travers show.

The pair connected on an alley-oop for the first score of the term, before the former fed Shea Ili for a score at the hoop.

The latter then showed his versatility, slamming home a dunk, swatting a shot and splashing a three in quick succession to put United in a strong position.

Delly followed this up with a floater of his own, before Lual-Acuil Jr, who had anchored Melbourne’s elite defensive pressure across this improvable run, outworked Froling in the post to ice United’s Game One victory.

The win puts Melbourne into a position to reach the Grand Final series on Sunday afternoon when they head to Illawarra for Game Two.

Fans can tune in on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.