Malique Lewis: 'Everything was going to change'

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NBA draftee and former NBL Next Star Malique Lewis' dagger three, corner pocket, put the punctuation mark on two NBL27 teams going in opposite directions.

Lewis, 21, was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 60th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after two seasons with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The 2.02m Trinidadian small forward returned to the NBL, and his three-pointer with 34 seconds left against Illawarra in Wollongong sealed the 110-100 win in Round 4 on Sunday, October 11, 2026. It is the Taipans third straight.

"I feel like from the jump, knowing that I was going to come here as an import, everything was going to change," Lewis said.

"I feel like Coach (Adam Forde) put a lot more responsibility on me, and it just gives me confidence to come in and make mistakes and get better.

"I feel comfortable out there. I'm in spots to excel and to show that I can do these things.

"So, yeah, I'm in a good spot. I feel like it's just doing my job.

"For me out there, just putting pressure on the scorers, making open shots, putting pressure on the rim also. I feel like I wasn't doing that before.

"Just coming out here and listening to Coach. Everybody just started doing their job.

"At first we weren't playing like ourselves.

"We weren't playing how Coach built the scheme for us to play. Now we're doing it."

Cairns are now fourth on the ladder at 4-3, while the Illawarra Hawks' hole has deepened to 1-6.

Lewis finished with seven points, six rebounds and two assists in 32:44 alongside former NBA Australian Jack McVeigh ($349,800), who was flat-out elite.

McVeigh, who has struggled from the field at times, poured in 32 points (12-from-17), grabbed three rebounds, four assists, and just two turnovers in 36:35 minutes.

"It was always going to happen," Forde said.

"There were a couple of games - I think about this, and this is where I have respect for South East.

"They had that game where they went 4-for-40, and everyone's like, 'Oh, what's your Plan B? What's your Plan B?'

I'm like, 'No, you're in this marriage with the style of play'. When times are rough, you're not going to suddenly divorce your wife.

"That's what I appreciate watching them and how Josh King and South East go about their business, to say, 'No, we double down on what our identity is'.

We had, 'Keep shooting those shots because those are your shots'. You went 1-for-11 in one of those games, I think, and 1-for-9, and I said to him, 'When these shots start dropping, then it's going to be easier on everybody else in the offence'.

"It was always going to happen and now we just hope that it continues to happen."

Hawks head coach Justin Tatum conceded Illawarra's inability to guard the ball has done the most damage to the NBL25 champions. Illawarra has given up a league-high 108.0 points per game in their first seven.

"I think this is really something that I personally can't do to individuals," Tatum said.

"I feel that they should take more pride in their one-on-one defence.

"Myself and my ACs have really good game plans on how we feel we can defend certain teams and certain actions, but it's just, once again, the effort part and the talking and the will to want to do it and guard.

"That's all what defence is. You can do as many schemes as you want.

"You can sit up here and throw everything and the kitchen sink at a team, but if the individuals don't buy in on guarding one-on-one, then it's really tough to do."

Illawarra can score the ball; the Hawks are second in the league at 99.71 points per game. Makur Maker ($99,800) (18), William Hickey ($331,600) (13), Lamar Patterson ($210,900) (11), Kyle Adnam ($69,000) (8) and Daniel Grida ($92,300) (4) combined for 54 points off the bench. But they can't stop anyone.

The Hawks are still hunting for a new import after parting ways with NBL25 champion Darius Days ($277,000) and growing concerns about All-First Team in NBL23 and All-Second Team in NBL24 Milton Doyle's 0-from-5, one rebound, five assists, and two turnovers in 24:33 against Cairns.

The 32-year-old American, who played for Melbourne United last season, is averaging 11.7 points (37%), 2.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.4 steals in NBL27 against his career averages of 15.1 points (40%), 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals.

"We're not really giving ourselves a chance to see what we need," Tatum added.

"At the end of the day, it's hard just to throw somebody in or ask somebody to come in and save our team. One import, one person, is not going to change our defensive effort.

"We've got to fix ourselves before we bring anybody else into this situation."

Watch

NBL27

Illawarra Hawks vs Cairns Taipans | Round 4 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Illawarra Hawks take on the Cairns Taipans in Round 4 of NBL27 on October 11, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Cairns Taipans beat the Illawarra Hawks 110-100 at WIN Entertainment Centre in Round 4 of NBL27, a third straight win that takes Cairns to 4-3 and a third straight loss that drops Illawarra to 1-6.
• Cairns won all four quarters, 28-27, 29-23, 29-27 and 24-23, led for good from 16-16 with 4:19 left in the first, and were 17 points clear at 54-37 in the second before Illawarra closed the half on a 13-3 run and got within four, at 89-93, with four minutes to play.
• Jack McVeigh ($349,800) top-scored with 32 points on 12-from-17, including 5-from-9 from three, 13 of them in the first quarter, while Makur Maker ($99,800) led Illawarra with 18 points and nine rebounds on 6-from-7 in 17 minutes off the bench.
• Cairns made 18 threes from 38 attempts and Illawarra made 11 from 30, a 21-point gap from beyond the arc in a game decided by 10.
• Illawarra won the rebounding 42-30, with 13 offensive rebounds to three, and their bench outscored Cairns' 54-24, but the Taipans' starting five scored 86 points to the Hawks' 46.

Cairns Taipans

• Jack McVeigh ($349,800) had 32 points and four assists on 12-from-17, including 5-from-9 from three and 3-from-4 at the line, in almost 37 minutes.
• Jonah Bolden ($133,600) added 20 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals off the bench on 7-from-9, including 4-from-5 from three, in under 24 minutes.
• Keanu Pinder ($300,000) had 19 points and six assists on 9-from-13 in 20 minutes, and Cairns were plus-16 with him on the floor, the best mark in the game.
• Jaylon Brown ($277,000) had 14 points, a game-high nine assists and two steals on 5-from-11, including 3-from-7 from three, with four turnovers.
• Reyne Smith ($156,300) scored 14 points on 5-from-10, including 4-from-7 from three, and three of those threes came in the second quarter as Cairns pulled away.
• Malique Lewis ($207,900) had seven points, six rebounds and two assists on 3-from-6 in almost 33 minutes.
• Shaun Bruce ($76,500) had two points and four assists in under 12 minutes off the bench, and made the last two free throws of the game with 11 seconds left.
• Cairns shot 42-from-72 from the field, 18-from-38 from three and 8-from-10 at the line, with 30 rebounds, 29 assists and 11 turnovers.

Illawarra Hawks

• Makur Maker ($99,800) had 18 points and nine rebounds on 6-from-7, including 2-from-2 from three and 4-from-4 at the line, scored seven of the Hawks' 13 points in the run that closed the first half, and fouled out in the final seconds.
• Sam Froling ($228,200) had 16 points, a game-high 12 rebounds (four offensive) and three assists on 6-from-9, with 4-from-8 at the line, in 21 minutes.
• William Hickey ($331,600) added 13 points, nine rebounds (five offensive) and four assists on 5-from-11 off the bench.
• Lamar Patterson ($210,900) had 11 points, four assists, two steals and a block on 5-from-7 in 16 minutes off the bench, and Illawarra were plus-four with him on the floor.
• Wani Swaka Lo Buluk ($145,200) scored 11 points on 4-from-7, including 3-from-5 from three, with two steals, and his three with 5:58 left cut the margin to 87-91.
• Kelan Martin ($277,000) scored eight points on 2-from-8 in 26 minutes, and Illawarra were minus-17 with him on the floor, the worst mark in the game.
• Milton Doyle ($274,700) had five assists but went 0-from-5, all from three, in almost 25 minutes.
• Illawarra shot 37-from-76 from the field, 11-from-30 from three and 15-from-20 at the line, with 42 rebounds, 20 assists and 13 turnovers.