VETERAN guard Matthew Dellavedova showed he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve as he came up clutch when it mattered for Melbourne United in game three of the NBL Grand Final series against Illawarra Hawks tonight. The Boomers’ playmaker scored nine points in the last five minutes of the match to steer his team to a 2-1 lead.

With the decider poised at one game a piece, it was yet again the away side that took the crowd out of it and produced what could be a series-defining win. United trailed by seven points at the final break but pumped out 23-10 in the last stanza to run over the top of the ladder leaders, 83-77 at WIN Entertainment Centre.

Dellavedova finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, providing much needed offensive support to the likes of Jack White (20 points, five rebounds and two steals), Ian Clark (16 points, seven rebounds and three assists) and Chris Goulding (14 points, three steals) who also contributed on the scoreboard in a big way.

Illawarra looked to have the game in its control after leading 67-60 at the final break. Though in keeping with the way the night had gone, nothing was certain as the momentum kept swinging from quarter to quarter. The Hawks lead by five at the first break, before United cut it to one by half-time. A 25-19 third term resulted in Illawarra again regaining that big buffer until the visitors ran over the top of the Hawks.

With 5:10 on the clock, Tyler Harvey put his team three points up with an important driving layup. However Melbourne United controlled the play from then on, scoring 13 of the next 17 points to win 83-77. Dellavedova (nine) and Clark (four) did all the scoring for the home side, and helped give United a much-needed 2-1 lead with a fourth match back at John Cain Arena.

Much like the first time they hosted United in the Grand Final Series, Harvey was once again kept quiet, finishing with just seven points and two assists – yet three turnovers – in 27 minutes on court. William Hickey (12 points) was his team’s top scorer, while Trey Kell III (10 points, eight rebounds and three assists) tried hard for the Hawks all night.

Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman said he had belief his side could pull off another remarkable win given the situation the visitors had found themselves in during game one.

“We kinda knew there had been an advantage in the fourth quarter and we had spoken about it as a group that if we could stay in touch that there’s a good chance we could execute down the stretch,” he said. “The game slows down a little bit, I held my timeouts. “Then we’ve executed pretty well in those moments, we showed it again tonight. “The way we guarded to give up 10 points and have great foul discipline which we have had both times here so far.

“We just looked at last game said we can’t let them have 16 more shots than us and we can’t let them have 12 more free throws, so just trying to level up the possession game and our rebounding was much better tonight.”

When asked if it was the curse of the fourth quarter in his press conference, Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum said “I guess so”.

“It was a tough fourth quarter, I took my hat off to Melbourne, played great defence and found a way to win,” he said.

In order to follow through on their minor premiership, the Hawks will now need to win on the road at John Cain Arena this Wednesday, March 19. If they keep their title dreams alive there, then it will be a return to Illawarra where the Hawks will host United for the decisive game five on Sunday, March 23.