The Hawks and Melbourne turned on one of the NBL’s best ever games in round one, United prevailing by one after a staggering four overtimes.

Dean Vickerman’s men played two more overtimes in going down to the Wildcats in Perth on Saturday, taking their tally to six extra periods in the opening three rounds.

They were also left feeling aggrieved at a a dud foul call that robbed Casper Ware of the match-winning basket with a second left in regulation

Adding to the pain, franchise star Chris Goulding left the court with an injured left knee late in the fourth quarter and looks at long odds to play against the Hawks on back of a return journey west.

It’s a challenge Beveridge is all too aware of having been forced to fly to Perth the day after their quadruple overtime loss in round one, the result a 40-point pasting at the hands of the Cats.

It leaves United ripe for the picking for a Hawks outfit looking to get one back and fresh off their eight-point win over Brisbane on Saturday.

“I was actually disappointed it didn’t go to three or four [overtimes],” Beveridge said of the Perth-Melbourne clash.

“Melbourne are an unbelievable team and that was a hell of a game. It was a real war and could have gone either way.

“I’m not sure what’s happened with Chris, hopefully he’s OK, but that was a real grind. Now they’ve got to jump on a plane and go back [to Melbourne] and we’re going to go after them.

“It’s almost a free hit for us but our intention is that we’re going down there to win.”

The win over the Bullets takes the Hawks ledger to 2-2 for the season with the chance to go 3-2.

While he was vigilant in keeping their focus on the Bullets this week, Beveridge said his side will be keen to atone for the one-point defeat in their last meeting. 

“The whole focus was on Brisbane,” Beveridge said.

“I thought they were outstanding [on Thursday] night against Perth and showed a lot of grunt.

“Adam Gibson really told his team to man up and they did. We got out 12-14-16 whatever it was and we saw the fight they had.

“We held them off, and I’m pleased about that, but now we need to focus on Melbourne. We’re going to go down there and we’re going to have a real crack at them.”