An upset was on the cards when the Hawks built a nine-point lead at three-quarter time.

But after restricting Cairns to six points in the third period, Wollongong were held to just five points in the final quarter and were beaten 63-60.

The Hawks blew a rare opportunity to register two wins in the same weekend, failing to back up Friday night's convincing 93-82 home win over Melbourne. Their record stands at 4-20 with four games remaining.

Hawks forward Brad Hill racked up team highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds, Rhys Martin and Gary Ervin had nine points apiece, while Jahii Carson finished with eight.

Taipans import Scottie Wilbekin posted a game-high 17 points and was at his best when his team needed him in crunch time.

"Cairns have been going pretty well and closing games out lately, and we've had that issue, so it's disappointing not to come away with it," Hill said.

"We felt pretty good about what we did in the first half and wanted to come out with the same intensity. We had a good third quarter and unfortunately we weren't able to keep it going."

Both teams made 39 per cent of their shots. The Hawks won the rebound battle 38-34 but their 15 turnovers more than doubled the Taipans' seven errors.

Wollongong started positively, grabbing their first lead at 7-6 on Martin's three-pointer from the corner.

Cairns fired back with an 8-3 run, punctuated by by Torrey Craig's alley-oop dunk with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Hawks received a timely lift from the bench, as Hill tallied six points and five rebounds to cut the home side's lead to 17-16 at the end of the period.

Martin nailed one of two free throws and Hill scored on a lay-up to put Wollongong up by one.

The margin was three after Hawks centre Larry Davidson's lay-up, but the Taipans regained the lead with Matt Burston's back-to-back shots.

The Hawks briefly got their noses back in front before dropping their guard and allowing unsung bench guard Nathan Sobey to score a quick five points.

Ervin drove in for a lay-up and Hill followed suit in the closing seconds to trim Cairns' lead to 40-39 at half-time.

Hill was the standout with 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists, while Martin had nine points.

Wilbekin led Cairns with eight points, three rebounds and three assists and Alex Loughton added seven points.

Both teams made 48 per cent of their shots in the first half. Wollongong held a 21-12 rebounding edge but had eight turnovers to the Taipans' lone mistake.

Showing no signs of folding when play resumed, the Hawks gradually forged ahead by five.

They extended the margin to 10 on Hill's jump-shot and held their opponents to just six points to take a 55-46 lead into the final quarter.

Wollongong looked in control when they went up by 11, but Wilbekin led an inevitable revival, sinking two clutch three-pointers.

He followed with a difficult bank-shot, bringing his side to within a single point with just over two minutes on the clock.

The Hawks blew several chances to build on their slender lead in crunch time and paid for it dearly when Craig scooped up a loose ball and scored inside. He was fouled on the play, knocking in the free throw to give Cairns a 62-60 lead with 50 seconds remaining.

Wilbekin made one of two foul shots moments later, leaving the door open for the Hawks to tie the game and force overtime.

Martin got a three-point attempt away in the dying stages but the ball bounced off the rim and the Taipans escaped with victory to rejoin New Zealand at the top of the ladder.

The Hawks take on Melbourne next weekend.