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Illawarra Hawks vs Melbourne UnitedSunday March 16, 5:30pm |
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TYLER HARVEYYY!!! There are not enough superlatives to describe how clutch his match winning three was, as the 2X All-NBL First Team Guard carried his Hawks on his back to shock United 102-100 at John Cain Arena in Game Two of the Grand Final Series. All up he locked down 24PTS and 2REB. However there was more drama to be had as after ‘Heroic Harvey’ came to the rescue, Chris Goulding’s own lethal shot from beyond the arc rolled in and out of the basketball rim, much to the opposing Guards disbelief as he headed straight down the tunnel afterwards. Sam Froling also put in one hell of a performance as the Illawarra Big Man conjured up 23PTS, 5REB and 1STL on an impressive 9/14 shooting from the floor. As for United Ian Clark came off the bench with a massive 31PTS, as he was a hot 4/7 from beyond the arc. There’s no ifs and buts for either franchise anymore, as this monumental result has left everything still to play for in Game Three.
One massive redeeming quality for the Hawks was Trey Kell III who put up 18PTS, 8REB, 6AST, 4STL and 1BLK. As in Game One he scored a paltry 6PTS on 3/11 shooting at the ‘Gong’. He hit some tough threes and he also drove to the rim with no general perception of the safety of his body. Now playing again in Wollongong for the first time since that disastrous performance, he’ll certainly have a fine game in tow to help back him up. His ability to penetrate Melbourne’s defence from anywhere on the court was a significant contributing factor to their hard-fought dub.
After going down in Q3, Ian Clark was a lethal weapon for Melbourne in his attempts to pull the game back which he oh so nearly did. Late, late in the tense affair he drew a foul from beyond the arc which nearly, nearly swung the result in United’s favour. He was so tough, as his other stats included 3REB, 2AST, 1STL and 1BLK as the former NBA Champion showed that he still has a lot left to say about the outcome of this series. As we all know too well he also put up 38PTS in his sides elimination win versus the Wildcats. With fellow Guard Shea Ili potentially missing this clash due to concussion protocols, Clark may be relied upon even more heavily than he already is. He needs to be ready to ball out once again.
Did you know? Prior to losing to Melbourne at home, Illawarra had won seven straight clashes at the WIN Entertainment Centre and in all but one of those games they scored 95 + points.
Whilst for United in their Game One dub in Wollongong, they scored 53 combined points in the second half. That as they produced two of the games top three scorers in the form of Matthew Dellavedova – 18PTS & Chris Goulding – 15PTS, respectively. They also gave away just 13 personal fouls to the Hawks 20 and collected 54 rebounds to their 39.
United know they can win back the series if they out-rebound and out-hustle the opposition. Whilst for the Hawks it’s all about ensuring that the gap isn’t too big so that if they do fall behind, the likes of Kell III, Harvey and Froling can bring the affair back to a standstill. Because that’s part of what they did incredibly well in Game Two. Marcus Lee collected 15REB in Game One for Melbourne as he outboxed his opposition Man on virtually every play. Jack White had 9REB and ‘Delly’ 7REB. That worked for them! Whilst for Illawarra they’ll inevitably have their more scrappy moments, but if their stars can shine when they need to they absolutely have every chance of turning this series on it’s head and in the process getting them one positive result away from just a second-ever Championship.
Betting tips: Look for a Hawks victory at $1.43 (BetFair)
Also look for the Hawks to win Q1 at $1.66 (BetRight)
The first half total should also be over 100 points at $1.78 (PointsBet)
Whilst both teams should also reach 25 + points in the opening stanza at $1.57 for the hosts and $1.95 for United (Bet365)