Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Championship Series Game 2 v Illawarra Hawks

Melbourne United have dropped Game 2 of the Championship Series on Wednesday evening inside John Cain Arena.

After an opening minute full of staunch defensive effort, Rob Loe broke through for the game’s first score, backing down his man in the post for an easy bucket.

From there, it was United’s three-point shooting that kept them in the contest, despite a number of early turnovers.

Chris Goulding knocked down a pair, Loe cashed in from the corner, while Flynn Cameron and Ian Clark got their eye in quickly coming off the bench.

The star of the period however was Tanner Krebs, who knocked down two triples in the final minute of the period, including a buzzer-beating effort, to tie up the game at 29-29.

The star reserve stayed hot to start the second term, adding four quick points to give himself a team-high 12 points before half-time.

This play had John Cain Arena rocking, however the Hawks surged back, flipping the lead to pull ahead by as many as six points.

Needing a spark, Clark attacked the hoop, getting inside for a layup and a floater, the latter of which narrowly coming before the half time siren to set the score at 49-51 at the major break.

Playing without Shea Ili, who exited the game following a head knock in the second quarter, United fought hard.

More choice three-point shooting kept the scoreboard ticking along, however Illawarra were able to create some separation, extending their lead to 11 points heading into the final period.

Desperate to claw their way back into the contest, Clark caught fire, scoring eight points in less than 90 seconds.

Goulding and Dellavedova each got in on the action from deep before Marcus Lee went upstairs for a monstrous slam, cutting the lead to just two points.

Clark and Dellavedova were able to bring the score level on two separate occasions, down the stretch, sending the over 9,000 fans inside John Cain Arena wild.

After two free throws from the Hawks, Clark got his opportunity to give Melbourne the lead, drawing a foul on the perimeter and knocking down three free throws to put the home side up 100-99 with 10 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately for United, Tyler Harvey was able to connect on his look from deep to give the Hawks a 100-102 victory.

The series is now tied up at 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Sunday evening at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong from 5:30pm.

Tickets for Game 4 back in Melbourne will go on sale to the public from 6pm on Thursday 13 March from 6pm.

To stay up with all updates this series, keep your eye on our Finals Hub.