Thrashed by Adelaide on Thursday, the Hawks crashed to a 79-77 loss to the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday at WIN Entertainment Centre, their fifth straight defeat since beating Townsville in the first game of the season.

Wollongong gave their fans something to cheer about when they cut New Zealand’s 13-point lead at three-quarter time to four with five minutes remaining.

The Breakers pushed the margin back up to nine and appeared to be cruising to victory, only for Hawks guard Jahii Carson’s late flurry of points to make it a one-point game with seconds to play

But they left their run too late, much like they did in last week’s two-point home loss to Cairns.

‘‘We can’t let it get to that stage,’’ captain Oscar Forman said.

Compounding their loss was a back injury suffered by import Gary Ervin. The feisty guard tried to keep playing but his night was over when he left the game in the first minute of the second half.

Ervin might struggle to be recover in time for this Friday’s home game against reigning champions Perth.

Breakers guard Rhys Carter came out firing, sinking back to back threes to break a six-all deadlock in the early minutes.

The signs were bad for Wollongong when they started to rack up as many turnovers as missed shots.

New Zealand held an eight-point lead and stretched it to 10 when playmaker Cedric Jackson found Ekene Ibekwe with a perfect alley-oop pass for a thundering dunk.

The Hawks were going nowhere until Hill’s three in the closing seconds cut the Breakers’ lead to 28-21 at quarter-time.

Wollongong had six turnovers in the period and made just 6/16 shots, while the visitors were a blistering 13/19.

It was much of the same when play resumed and the margin went back up to nine, but the Hawks raised the defensive intensity and gradually worked their way back with eight unanswered points.

Forward Tai Wesley hit a jump-hook to give New Zealand a 36-33 lead with 58 seconds left in the half. Two more free throws from Wesley made it 41-36 at half-time.

Adam Ballinger’s seven points led Wollongong, while Luke Nevill had six points and five rebounds.

Jackson had nine points and Wesley and Corey Webster each had eight.

The Hawks pulled to within a point early in the third period, but the Breakers responded with a 7-0 run.

Ervin only lasted a minute of the second half before walking stiffly from the court.

Wollongong’s situation only worsened when the margin swelled to 15 with 90 seconds remaining in the third period.

Tyson Demos made a lay-up to break the drought but New Zealand enjoyed a 64-51 lead with a quarter to play.

As usual, the Hawks never quit, but they will continue to lose games until they string four good quarters together.