Illawarra coach Justin Tatum has suffered his first loss to Sydney, with the Hawks comprehensively outplayed by their NBL arch-rivals in a thumping 98-71 defeat.
The American coach had an unblemished record from six matches against the Sydneysiders since taking over the Hawks in 2023, but his defending champions were well off the pace in their Sunday afternoon clash at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Despite missing Boomers star Matthew Dellavedova through illness and veteran Shaun Bruce to a calf injury, the Kings were able to stretch their winning streak to four games.
ROBBO MAKING IT RAIN ☔️#BuiltForSydney pic.twitter.com/Ex1abMEpfC— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) November 16, 2025
With Kings coach Brian Goorjian orchestrating a defensive masterclass, the Hawks had their lowest-scoring half of the season and trailled 53-32 at the break, with the telling statistic being their 13 conceded turnovers – which blew out to 26 for the match.
There was no love lost between the NSW teams with Xavier Cooks given a technical foul for an “act of violence” with just over three minutes left in the half when he offered a hand to help Will Hickey up from the floor.
When it was ignored by the feisty Hawks guard, skipper Cooks pushed the knee of Hickey, who dramatically fell backwards.
Hawks forward Todd Blanchfield and Kings rival Kouat Noi were then also given technical fouls after they had to be separated following a scuffle on the deck.
The home side went on a nine-point run to open the third quarter and pegged the margin back to 12 points.
But the Kings regrouped and led 71-50 heading into the final term with their bench contributing in an all-team showing.
The Hawks’ hopes of a fightback took a major hit with their three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee fouled out with 8.44 left on the clock.
Averaging 23.1 points heading into the match, the giant import left the Wollongong court with just nine points and nine rebounds.
Kendric Davis top-scored for the visitors with 17 points and eight assists.
