'Iso ball' Hawks get smacked by Kings' Carr

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Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum says his team has to "hold the fort down" until they add an extra import player to save their season after a 108-82 drubbing at the hands of New South Wales rivals the Sydney Kings at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Makur Maker ($99,800) rewarded Tatum for propelling him into the starting line-up, continuing his hot form since joining the Hawks with 24 points on top of seven rebounds and three assists, but it was nowhere near enough as Illawarra couldn't back up from their impressive win over Melbourne United last round.

Six players scored in double figures for the Kings with import big man Andrew Carr ($277,000) having a breakout game in his first NBL season with a monster double-double of 16 points and 20 rebounds, while star point guard Kendric Davis ($436,000) also had 23 points and 14 assists.

Still with an import spot to fill after the early departure of Darius Days, Tatum said the Hawks "were right there" in locking in a replacement.

"We're working every day, on the phone every day, doing our best to find the best piece available that's going to fit this group on and off the court," he said in his post-game press conference.

"So we're right there, we're right there. We just got to hold the fort down."

Tatum said some of his players resorted to "iso ball" which cost them against the suffocating defence of the Kings while Milton Doyle ($274,700) continues to struggle to produce for the Hawks.

"(The game) probably changed sometime in the second quarter, where they started to pull away a little bit as far as us turning the ball over," he said.

"We went into some iso ball here and there and they just turned their defence intensity up and find a way to get easy baskets.

"Just us, at times, going rogue offensively.

"I got guys, at times, that feel that they can or haven't touched the ball in a while, like to go get a shot up instead of trusting the offence and making Sydney work on the defensive end.

"Clearly we haven't (figured out how to use Doyle) right now, but that's something that he's striving to get to and then we're working with him diligently to see how we can make him more effective or get him to a spot to be more effective.

"It's just a process and unfortunately, it's a tough end for us right now being 2-7... But I still have a thousand percent faith in this group to be able to bounce back Saturday."

Kings coach Brian Goorjian praised the efforts of his bench players and admitted the Hawks were a dangerous team coming into the clash after the victory in Melbourne.

Goorjian said Carr, whose double-double included 16 defensive rebounds, has been a significant reason behind the team's improvement throughout the early stages of the season.

"I think all the guys know, (it's his) first year, and he's young and he's never played overseas before, and we see it at practice, not only do we got a great locker room guy and team guy, but he's a really good basketball player," he said.

"(He's) multi-skilled, can guard multiple positions, can make decisions with the dribble, can play with his back, we're pretty fortunate there, and that was a big, big, big signing, with the loss of Tim (Soares), who was so great for us last year, so we feel he's only going to get better, and it's been a constant.

"If you go to the first game and you go to the last three, even though we haven't been great, we've been getting better, and he's been a big reason for that."

Illawarra host the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday while the Kings play away against United on Sunday.

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NBL27

Illawarra Hawks vs Sydney Kings | Round 6 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Illawarra Hawks take on the Sydney Kings in Round 6 of NBL27 on October 22, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Sydney Kings beat the Illawarra Hawks 108-82 at WIN Entertainment Centre in NBL27 Round 6.
• Sydney won three of the four quarters, 20-19, 28-17 and 34-16, and led by as many as 33 in the third before Illawarra took the fourth 30-26.
• Kendric Davis ($436,000) had 23 points and 14 assists on 10-from-22, and Makur Maker ($99,800) led Illawarra with 24 on 9-from-12.
• Illawarra made more threes, 12 from 34 to Sydney's 11 from 27, but Sydney made 30 of 51 twos to Illawarra's 16 of 40, a 28-point gap inside the arc in a 26-point game.
• Andrew Carr ($277,000) had 20 rebounds and 16 points on 6-from-8 in 24 minutes off the bench, and Sydney won the boards 45-34.

Sydney Kings

• Kendric Davis ($436,000) top-scored with 23 points and a game-high 14 assists on 10-from-22, with no turnovers in 30 minutes.
• Torrey Craig ($290,400) added 22 points, six rebounds and three steals on 8-from-13, including 3-from-5 from three.
• Andrew Carr ($277,000) had 16 points and 20 rebounds, 16 of them defensive, on 6-from-8 in 24 minutes off the bench.
• Makuach Maluach ($134,500) scored 13 points on 4-from-5, including 2-from-3 from three.
• Xavier Cooks ($308,000) had 12 points and six rebounds on 5-from-8.
• Jayden Stone ($100,000) scored 10 points off the bench on 4-from-8, including 2-from-5 from three.
• Jason Spurgin ($69,000) had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks on 3-from-3 in 14 minutes off the bench.
• Sydney shot 41-from-78 from the field, 11-from-27 from three and 15-from-16 at the line, with 45 rebounds, 25 assists and seven turnovers.

Illawarra Hawks

• Makur Maker ($99,800) top-scored with 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 9-from-12, including 2-from-3 from three.
• Tyler Harvey ($271,700) added 17 points on 5-from-12, including 3-from-7 from three.
• William Hickey ($331,600) had nine points and four assists on 4-from-11 off the bench.
• Todd Blanchfield ($123,800) scored eight points with six rebounds on 2-from-6, both makes from three, in 15 minutes off the bench.
• Wani Swaka Lo Buluk ($145,200) had five points on 2-from-4.
• Lamar Patterson ($210,900) had three points and five assists in 13 minutes off the bench.
• Kelan Martin ($277,000) scored two points on 1-from-10 in 15 minutes off the bench.
• Illawarra shot 28-from-74 from the field, 12-from-34 from three and 14-from-21 at the line, with 34 rebounds, 21 assists and 10 turnovers.