Hawks defensive whiz Wani Swaka Lo Buluk's pride in small finals moments

It goes doubly for post-season series' where the tables turn multiple times, with both games one and two of Illawarra's semi-final series with Melbourne United having gone to overtime.

The Hawks were on the right side of the ledger in Wollongong on Sunday, largely due to a final-second put-back from Will Hickey that denied United a sweep and gave the hosts all the momentum into the overtime period that followed.

Just days earlier it was United pulling the game out of the fire, overturning a 16-point deficit with seven minutes left to force overtime and run away with the game on their own floor.

Both clashes had their share of memorable moments, but having won three NBL championships with two clubs over multiple series', Swaka Lo Buluk says victory ultimately goes to whoever makes best use of the smaller moments.

"We know these moments are big, but every little thing counts," Swaka Lo Buluk said.

"I think I just try my best to put in the extra effort where it is needed and stay locked in the whole game. You can't have too many lapses here and there. We know what's on the line, but you don't want to overthink things and go into the game thinking 'I need to do this or that'.

"We were good enough [on Sunday] to put ourselves in that position where it was only a two point game by being locked in the whole game. That's the biggest thing, being locked in no matter what.

"It doesn't matter if we're down 10, up 10, we're going to play until the final buzzer goes. A guy like Davo (Hickey), he just played to the end. There's obviously big moments, but we don't get too worked up about it.

"We just needed to stay together and that's what we try to preach in the huddle. Even when we were down 10, we just had to keep staying together and just keep believing we were going to end up with a win."

The 22-year-old said the Hawks will carry that belief with them to Melbourne on Wednesday looking to hand United back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, and bury the ghost of what could still prove a costly game-one fade-out.

"We've had our backs on the wall a couple of times this year and, after a loss, we always back ourselves and we're better the next game," Swaka Lo Buluk said.

"We just kind of brushed [game one] off and knew that we were going to be good for the next game. We knew it was going to be a grind and we ended up getting the win.

"It's one game now and we need to get the job done in Melbourne. We're all excited, we've got a lot of confidence, but we know we've got to keep cool and just take it one game at a time.

"We're trying to take it as just another game. That's what we've got to keep doing, especially this game coming up, stay together as a group, and I think we'll be able to get out of Melbourne and get the win."

Swaka Lo Buluk has proven disruptor-in-chief for opposition offenses so far this season, producing notable shut-down efforts on MVP Bryce Cotton and All-NBL First Team honouree Parker Jackson-Cartwright facing elimination a fortnight ago.

While he'll back himself to handle any defensive assignment, the Hawks two-time Defensive Player of the Year admits the multi-pronged United offense is a different proposition to any team in the league.

"That's why they're the top team," he said.

"Look at their guys from one through 12. They've got super talented squad and guys that are just so great offensively. We know we have to be locked into each and every one of those players.

"You can't afford lapses because everyone's going to score. You've got Delly (Matt Dellevadova), you've got Ian (Clark), you've got (Chris) Goulding, you've got Joe Lual (Acuil). You've got all those guys, so it's just about being locked into every single one of them the whole game."