Playing in front of a record crowd of 17,514 at Qudos Bank Arena, the Hawks were gallant in defeat, pushing the competition leaders throughout the entire match.

The Hawks levelled the scores at 79-79 with just under three minutes remaining, however it was the Kings who were able to close out the game throughout the final moments. Sydney eventually ran out 92-87 winners.

The Hawks hopes of claiming the match were dealt a dagger blow with 43 seconds remaining, Ball fouling out after earning his fifth foul of the game, his team trailing 87-81.

Ball was slow to get going, struggling throughout the first half, however he found the zone in the third quarter, racing away to 14 points in the early exchanges.

He eventually finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Tactical fouls and accurate shooting extended the match, however Sydney finished well to secure the five-point win.

Illawarra coach Matt Flinn was proud of his team's effort, but remained disappointed they weren't able to come away with the win.

"It does hurt," Flinn said. "We're all pros, we love winning and we're ultra competitive, particularly this group, and I think you saw that tonight."

"We're bitterly disappointed we didn't get the w, at 2-7 we've set our goal to chip away at this and climb it and I thought we did enough tonight to do that, but it didn't happen for us.

"I"m extremely proud of them, they dug in, the way they worked was unbelievable. I'm really proud and we'll keep building."

The Hawks started the match well, with AJ Ogilvy and Todd Blanchfield combining for 15 points to hand the side a 28-24 quarter-time advantage.

Casper Ware and Jae'Sean Tate were a constant threat for the Kings, with the Hawks defence struggling to shut the pair down. Despite this, Illawarra were impressive at the other end of the court, with the offence running through Ball.

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While Ball was an effective distributor, the American struggled to find the basket, shooting just one of seven in the first half.

Illawarra were left to rue a disappointing second quarter, with a four-point advantage turned into a six-point half-time deficit.

It took the Kings just over three minutes to cut the gap, with Ware and Tate finding their range.

Tate and Ware were among the Kings best all match, with Tate finishing with a game-high 24 points and Ware 21.

The Hawks second unit struggled and while Flinn quickly turned to his starters, it did little to stem the tide.

Blanchfield remained the bright spot throughout this period, the former King producing 15 points and six rebounds in the first half before finishing with 22 points.

While it was the Kings who blitzed their opponents to start the second quarter, it was the Hawks who returned the favour to open the third.

Illawarra scored 10 of the first 12 points points to hit the front, with Ball finally finding his rhythm.

Having little success from beyond the arc, the 18-year-old started to attack the hoop, a move that brought immediate success.

Starting the quarter with just three points, Ball had very quickly raced to double figures, before he found himself in foul trouble and was replaced.

That replacement started a disappointing stretch for the Hawks, with the Kings kicking out to a five-point lead at the final interval.

The fourth quarter was an even battle, with both teams trading blows in search of the lead.

The Hawks were able to cut the margin to one with less than four minutes remaining

Ogilvy then silenced the record crowd when he levelled the scores, however that was where the joy would end for the Hawks, with Tate putting his team back in front just moments later and that would be where they stayed for the remainder of the game.

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