It was a return to the scene of the Hawks biggest triumph of the season, a New Years' Eve upset of their arch-rivals, but the league leaders were having none of it this time around, cruising to a 102-79 win.

The visitors led by 12 at the break and never looked like giving the hosts sniff, ultimately cruising to the finish on the first-leg of a weekend double that can seal their top-two fate.

Jae'sean Tate against proved the Kings engine with 17 points and six rebounds but Will Weaver got more than handy production from his second unit, with Deshon Taylor (17), Didi Louzada (14) and Daniel Kickert (14) all in double digits.

Brad Newley (13) and Casper Ware (10) also cracked double figures in an all-round blue collar effort from the glamour club.

After missing the Hawks last-start loss to Brisbane, Darington Hobson returned with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists but he was a virtual lone hand.

Todd Blanchfield finished with 12 points, while Josh Boone and Sunday Dech both had 11 on a largely forgettable evening for the home side.

It was the Hawks penultimate home game of the year, with three of their last four games on the road in a tough run to the finish for Matt Flinn's injury-plagued side.

It was a sluggish start with Blanchfield grabbing first points from the foul-line before Cooks finally grabbed the first field goal.

Ogilvy had two blocks a steal and a clever assist for Blanchfield's first bucket, with four points of his own in a strong start for the hosts but it was visitors who set the tempo.

Ware had seven for the term, including the first triple of the night, with Deshon Taylor grabbing a couple of threes for a six-point lead at quarter-time.

Hobson had an and-one and a three to lock the scores early in the second and Boone had four as the hosts grabbed a two-point cushion,

Ware ripped it out from under them with his second long bomb of the night and Newley finished an and-one play to re-take command.

Tate also had a freebie as the lead shot back out to nine on a triple from Kickert, with a costly turnover giving Tate his easiest points of the season and an 11-point lead.

Blanchfield had his first three in response the Kings proved lethal in transition with Louzada and Tate grabbing easy buckets on the break.

Louzada had his first three as the lead ballooned to 15 on a 13-0 run but Naar fired back from long range to cut things back to 12 at halftime.

Newley and Dech traded five each to start to the second but the Kings took full control, with Taylor grabbing two more from the land of plenty and Shaun Bruce also chiming in from deep.

It saw the margin stretch to 17, forcing Flinn into a timeout. Grida and Kickert traded threes after the resumption but the hosts couldn't put a dent in the margin by the final break.

It was about where the Hawks resistance ended, with the final term playing out in virtual junk time with both sides second units banking time.