Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum was left fuming after what he felt was Melbourne United taking advantage of an injury to his star guard Trey Kell III late in the Hawks’ 83-77 game three loss at the WIN Sports and Entertainment Centre on Sunday.
With Kell left clutching his knee on the offensive end after slipping on a mid-range shot, United went up the floor and veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova smartly took a three-point shot knowing the Hawks would commit a foul to stop the game and get Kell medical attention.
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Dellavedova made all three shots from the free throw line, putting United up six and they were never headed from that point on, taking a crucial 2-1 lead in the best-of-five NBL Championship Series with a chance to seal their first title since 2021 on their home floor on Wednesday night.
“We just wanted to make sure that our player was okay,” Tatum said.
“He slipped, similar to what ‘Delly’ did when they stopped the whole game and almost had a holiday to make sure he was okay.
“Unfortunately when Trey Kell, somebody on my team gets hurt, we can’t look out after them or we can’t make sure they’re off the court.
“At the end of the day, that’s just the difference of respect I guess between Melbourne and the Hawks.”
Tatum also called out the officials.
The second-year coach was unhappy that his team went to the foul line just eight times compared to United’s 21.
The Hawks were charged with 19 personal fouls to United’s 14.
Asked if he would ask for an explanation from the NBL, Tatum scoffed.
“Who cares, talking to them is irrelevant,” he said.
“I can send in whatever I need to send in, it doesn’t matter.
“We’ve just got to play through whoever they send to officiate the game, whoever they send to commentate the game, we don’t care, we just care about the Hawks, that’s it.”
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MATCH REPORT
It will go down as one of the great comeback wins in Melbourne United history and it gives them a chance to seal the NBL Championship on their home floor.
United trailed by a massive 10 points early in the fourth quarter before clawing their way back to steal game three 83-77 over Illawarra Hawks at the WIN Sports and Entertainment Centre to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five NBL Championship Series.
The first three games of the series have all been pinched by the road team, so don’t write the Hawks off just yet.
The Hawks have a serious concern heading into game four with star guard Trey Kell III injuring his knee in the fourth quarter.
Kell limped off the court after he collapsed attempting a mid-range shot.
If United can buck the trend of visiting teams winning in this series, they can secure their first title since 2021.
The game three underdogs produced a fourth quarter defensive masterclass.
They restricted the high-powered Hawks offence to just 10 points in the fourth.
United did it without defensive player of the year Shea Ili, who is out with concussion from game two.
Jack’s back
United forward Jack White put his wretched scoreless game two behind him and came out with the aggression expected from one of the stars of the league.
White led all scorers with 12 points on 5/5 shooting to keep United in the hunt at half time.
He came out after half time and hit two big threes to give United a six-point advantage.
White finished with a game-high 20 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Delly delivers
When the game was on the line, United turned to veteran Matthew Dellavedova to steer them to victory.
The former NBA star was a menace defensively, but an organiser with ball in hand, finishing with a double-double 16 points and 11 assists.
Dellavedova is 40 minutes away from adding a dream NBL title to the glitz of his NBA championship.
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Stars stopped
The key to stopping Illawarra in this series is limiting the influence of stars Kell and Tyler Harvey.
After the pair combined for 42 points in game two, including Harvey’s spectacular matchwinning three, they were held to just 17 points combined in game three.
Dellavedova and veteran Ian Clark were outstanding defensively for United in limiting the Kell and Harvey combination.
The Hawks face a nervous wait not to see if Kell will be available for game four after injuring his knee in the fourth quarter.
Days out
Forward Darius Days could be the ace up the sleeve of the Hawks heading into game four.
When Days was on the court, the Hawks absolutely cooked, with the physical big man a +14 in plus-minus with 11 points and four rebounds.
Will Hickey led all Hawks scorers with 12 and was a constant threat.
Public enemy
United captain Chris Goulding is the player Hawks fans most love to hate after a flopping controversy early in the season.
Goulding was booed every time he received the ball and it perhaps got under his skin as he shot a rare air ball in the second quarter.
The 36-year-old had the last laugh, finishing on the winning side with 14 points.
NBL SCOREBOARD
Illawarra Hawks 77 (Hickey 12 Days 11) lt Melbourne United 83 (White 20 Dellavedova 16 Clark 16)
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