The Illawarra Hawks continue to show how far they have come under new coach Justin Tatum with a gritty 94-90 win over the Sydney Kings on Christmas Day at Qudos Bank Arena.
Sydney have won the past two NBL championships and have had the wood over their nearest neighbours, winning eight straight against Illawarra.
However, this is a different Hawks team since Tatum replaced Jacob Jackomas over the past six games.
Illawarra had won three of the first four and then put in a disappointing showing on Saturday at home to lose to the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Their resilience and hunger, however, were on show in front of 8578 fans against the Kings on Christmas evening.
It was the determination and focus the players showed against the Kings that have been dramatically improved under Tatum.
In the end, the two biggest plays of the game to seal the win provided evidence of that improvement.
It started with an offensive rebound from Next Star Lachlan Olbrich to set up veteran import forward Gary Clark to hit the go-ahead basket with 34 seconds remaining.
Up the other end, sharpshooter Hyunjung Lee was determined to grab the defensive rebound, which led to Justin Robinson icing the game at the foul line.
It meant the Hawks beat the Kings for the first time since April 24, 2022.
The victory improves the Hawks to 6-9 for the season with four wins from six games under Tatum - and they had to overcome an 18-point deficit in the second quarter to do it.
They were back within two points by half-time, then closed the job, finishing with eight of the final 10 points, with Sam Froling leading the charge with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Tyler Harvey hit four three-pointers for 15 points, with Robinson adding 14 points and five assists, Lee 13 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting, and Olbrich nine points and 10 rebounds.
Tatum trumpeted the efforts of 19-year-old Olbrich after the match.
"Lachie Olbrich was MVP tonight and we told him that at half-time, and at the end of the game," Tatum said.
"He was the reason it started that spark for us and he came in and gave us some energy, and life.
"He's the MVP of this and that's what's special about this group - you don't know who is going to show up, and guys are going to be ready when they get the opportunity."
It's a double loss round for Sydney on the back of losing to New Zealand on Friday, with the reigning champs slipping to 9-8.
Jaylen Adams top-scored with 22 points and five assists, with DJ Hogg adding 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Kouat Noi 14 points.
Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah pointed to conceding 18 offensive rebounds to the Hawks for 16 second-chance points as the major difference.
"Kudos to them, but the difference in the game was that they out-rebounded us," he said.
"It's a bit about effort, understanding and being in the correct spots on the floor with the rotations, and knowing where you're supposed to be at and when, and who you're guarding."
