NBL24 Blitz: Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks WWAG Recap

Melbourne United have won their second game of the NBL Blitz, leading throughout against the Illawarra Hawks.

Ariel Hukporti got United on the board first, finishing in the post following a nice feed from Shea Ili before Chris Goulding opened his NBL Blitz account, cashing in a triple from the wing.

United’s output was matched by the Hawks across the first five minutes, however that all changed once Matthew Dellavedova checked into the contest.

Delly knocked down a trio of three-pointers in a 17 point first quarter that had United’s bench on their feet.

This, and a late long-range make from Ian Clark following a Luke Travers offensive rebound, had Melbourne United up 28-13 to close the opening ten minutes.

This momentum continued to start the second period, with Ariel Hukporti providing a huge highlight when he skied high to slam home an alley-oop slam on top of Hyunjung Lee.

The Next Star followed this up with a pair of blocked shots before United’s shooters went to work. Tanner Krebs, Flynn Cameron and Chris Goulding all found the bottom of the net from deep, capping off a 17-5 run which saw Melbourne pull ahead by as many as 25 points.

Ilalwarra answered quickly, going on a 12-0 run of their own before who else but Matthew Dellavedova brought that to an end with another triple.

Another pair of threes from Goulding and Brad Newley closed the quarter for Melbourne, having pushed their lead back out to 22 points going into the major break.

The third quarter mirrored the second in many ways, with Ariel Hukporti throwing down a monster slam in the opening minutes before United’s shooters fired away.

Shea Ili and Chris Goulding each knocked down threes, while the latter came up with a huge chasedown block on the defensive end.

While MU’s offence looked potent, the points began to dry up in the second half of the term, allowing the Hawks to make a late run, cutting the lead heading into the final 10 minutes to just 15 points.

Illawarra continued to cut into the deficit across much of the fourth period, challenging United on both ends.

Shea Ili did all he could across his minutes, finishing a pair of tough jumpers to keep Melbourne in front before fouling out.

Needing someone to step up, Flynn Cameron immediately got into the paint and floated in a pair of buckets to hold the Hawks at bay.

Luke Travers followed this up with a steal and sweet dime to Kyle Bowen for a fast-break finish to put United up by 14 with 3 minutes remaining.

LT  this this aggressive play by slicing through the lane for a finger roll, before rising for a dunk in the final minute of action to cap off an impressive evening.

Ultimately, United closed the contest holding onto their 14 point advantage to win their second contest of the NBL Blitz.

United will next face the Sydney Kings on Wednesday night from 7:30pm. The game will be streamed live on Kayo Freebies.