ILLAWARRA Hawks sit atop the NBL 2024/25 ladder in a Christmas miracle for fans, surpassing two of the biggest and most successful teams of late, Melbourne United and their state-based rivals, Sydney Kings.

The Hawks have been on a tear this season with a point to prove, moving up to 12 wins from 17 games and boasting a 7-3 away record to draw level with United on 12 wins, but have three games in hand. Last night, Illawarra upstaged the Kings at Qudos Bank Arena to justify the hype further in front of more than 8500 people in a nail-biting 111-108 result.

It has left the standings after Christmas Day with the Hawks on top with a 12-5 win-loss tally ahead of United (12-8) and the Kings (11-8), while the red-hot Tasmania JackJumpers are closing fast (10-8), as seven teams have between nine and 12 wins in one of the tightest seasons to-date.

In an entertaining game, Sydney got the home crowd up and about early, smashing home 31 points to 23 in a blistering start. However that was short lived, with the visiting fans getting involved throughout the second term, adding a game-high 35 points to 27, making the half-time score an even 58 apiece.

That form from the second carried into the third for Illawarra as the Hawks again topped 30 points, going seven clear of the Kings who needed a response in the last. They got it, winning the final term 27-23 but it would not be enough.

On a couple of occasions, the Kings even drew within one point, first with 2:33 on the clock after Keil Leaupepe delivered the And-One chance from the charity stripe, and then again when Jaylen Adams produced a driving layup with 81 seconds to go.

However on both occasions, Trey Kell III responded, coming up with a long-range dagger to stretch the lead to two possessions just 10 seconds after the latter. A poor turnover by the Kings only further stretched that lead, and while former NBL MVP Xavier Cooks gave the Kings a shot with a triple, a last second three-point attempt to level the scores from Kouat Noi was not to be, as Kell III grabbed the defensive board and held on for the win.

The back court combination of Kell III (26 points, eight assists and six rebounds) and Tyler Harvey (22 points, four assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks) was crucial in the win, with the pair combining for seven of 23 from long-range.

Contributions off the bench from Darius Days (10 points, five rebounds), Hyunjung Lee (nine points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks) and William Hickey (12 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocks) all further helped the Hawks cause. Big men Sam Froling (14 points, six rebounds and three assists) and Mason Peatling (seven points, five rebounds) chipped in despite less than 22 minutes on court.

For the Kings, the bulk of the scoring came from half a dozen players with Alex Toohey (25 points, four rebounds and three steals) and Noi (24 points, nine rebounds and two assists) both putting up big numbers. The latter might have been inaccurate from range (2/11), but did not miss a free throw from eight attempts and shot 5/8 from inside the arc.

Cooks (11 points, 10 rebounds) picked up a double-double and had six assists, while fellow front court talent Leaupepe finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two assists to join him in that club. Jaylen Adams‘ seven dimes were a team-high and accompanied 18 points and three rebounds.

Illawarra coach Justin Tatum said the win gave notice to the Hawks’ rivals that they were a title contender this season.

“It was a game that showed us our grit and we feel like if we want to become a championship calibre team then this is the type of game we need to win,” he said.

“That was mainly through having played a couple of nights before and we had to show that resilience, and we had to fight through a lot of things to become a championship team, and we did pretty well.”