The reason why? The Hawks coach saw great potential for three straight wins.

The run began on Monday night when Illawarra hosted Cairns. The Hawks overcame the first hurdle by sealing a 114-106 win in overtime against the Taipans.

Flinn is now ready for step two with the Hawks flying to Auckland to take on New Zealand this Saturday afternoon. Illawarra will be confident of its chances against the bottom-placed Breakers.

If they emerge victorious, the Hawks will aim to complete the triple when they head to Brisbane to face the Bullets on December 7.

See more: Cairns coach frustrated after Illawarra Hawks 'outplayed us' again

For now, Flinn said he felt "relief" to beat the Taipans as his side looked to build some momentum. Illawarra led by 12 points at half time but were forced to hold on against a fast-finishing opponent.

"We've spoken a lot about these three games and we've ticked off one of those goals. It was a gritty win," he said.

"We spoke at half time about sticking to our rules and limiting them to 20 [points] or under a quarter. That's something we've been working hard on at the defensive end of the floor. I didn't think we were great in the third quarter... but I was really happy that we found a way to close out the game.

"Being able to close out games with such a young group is something that we've been trying to work on. We're starting to get confidence in our system now. I'm really pleased but there's still a lot to do."

Monday night's win was set up LaMelo Ball, who became the youngest NBL player in history to achieve a triple-double.

The 18-year-old drained 32 points - including four three-pointers - and had 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

"I think everyone saw tonight what he is capable of," Flinn said.

"We see it pretty regularly in practise, when the doors are closed. It was really nice for him to get into a flow, he impacts the game in so many different ways. It's exciting to be apart of.

"It's also the way he brings his teammates into the game as well. There are so many good players in this league but the really great ones make everyone around them better and we saw tonight how he can bring other players into the game.

"He's working hard in the gym. It's the other end of the floor where he's made significant strides as well, he had over 40 minutes [of game time]. He's making a contribution at that end, that's where he's had tremendous growth. That's the exciting part."

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