PURE dominance is the only way to describe the performance of big man JaVale McGee in the National Basketball League (NBL) Ignite Cup last night, leading his Illawarra Hawks to a 14-point win over Melbourne United in a statement performance.

Illawarra’s championship defence is well and truly alive after convincingly knocking off the ladder-leaders at WIN Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night in the NBL’s in-season tournament. Despite a slow start to the season, the Hawks have looked a different side since the return of William Hickey at the point guard position.

Although they entered the clash sitting in 10th spot against the top team in the land, it was a one-sided affair in favour of the Hawks, with Illawarra proving too much for Melbourne to handle as it suffered its second consecutive loss after starting the season with 10 wins from 10 games.

There is no denying it was McGee’s best performance in the NBL, completely dominating his matchup against Jesse Edwards and proving far too good for United’s typically strong defence in a massive performance.

Illawarra Hawks (107) def. Melbourne United (93)

JaVale McGee – 37 points, 14 rebounds, one assist, two steals, one block

The three-time NBA champion was unstoppable in a terrific team performance that announced that the Hawks are still extremely dangerous in the championship hunt on their day, in a result that could spark the remainder of their season.

Strangely, he opened the match with an alley-oop assist to his point guard in Hickey in a reversal of what typically happens between the pair. It did not take long for McGee to record his first highlight, throwing down a one-handed reverse dunk under the basket through contact for an and-one that ignited the crowd at WIN Entertainment Centre.

He began to draw contact at a rapid rate, and Edwards found himself in quick foul trouble and forced to the bench, which allowed McGee to take advantage of his matchup against the undersized Fabijan Krslovic.

The big man was simply a cheat code in the paint, with the Hawks able to throw the ball somewhere in his vicinity and McGee found a way to gather possession and get a good look at the basket. At the end of the first half, he already had 20 points to his name and was the biggest factor in the match, throwing down dunks and nailing layups in what can only be described as domination.

Although Edwards returned to the fold to start the third quarter and looked to put physical pressure on his excelling counterpart, McGee was still far too good and could not be stopped when he got a few feet within the hoop. United were still in the contest in the final few minutes of the term, until a trio of strong inside finishes from the star Hawks center gave the home side some more breathing space at three-quarter time.

The game was decided early in the fourth quarter, with McGee’s fingerprints all over the hefty lead the Hawks had built over the first 30 minutes of play. Given how well he had performed to that point in the game, the big man tried his hand at a rare three-pointer late in the shot clock on one possession, and it fitting fashion, it was nothing but net as his Hawks teammates and fans erupted before he finished the game on the bench.

In one of the biggest performance of the season, McGee finished with 37 points on 13/21 shooting from the field while nailing 10 of his 11 attempts at the free throw line to go with his 13 rebounds. In the biggest performance by an Illawarra performance in a decade, he may have single-handedly given Illawarra some faith in its title defence.