The Hawks will return from across the ditch with a win in their pocket after downing the Breakers on Friday night.
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Brian Goorjian's men had trailed by two points at the main break, but a strong second half secured the 84-73 victory at The Stockyard.
The Hawks, sporting their new indigenous jerseys, were inspired by another superb performance from Tyler Harvey, who finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Teammate Sam Froling also had 22 points and eight boards, while Finn Delany mustered 24 points for the Breakers.
The result puts Illawarra in a strong position heading into their final three games before the playoffs, starting on Sunday against Adelaide, where the hosts will again wear their indigenous jersey.
"Coming in here, it was a very dangerous game. They're a very well coached, a very talented team who everyone knows has had a really difficult situation. And we're playing for our lives and you end up down in New Zealand," Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said.
"We had to ensure we brought the defensive energy that we've played with at home to this game. And I just feel like that we stayed in this and we were still in the game at half time, and we didn't let them separate from us. They knew they had 20 minutes to go and I just think how we discussed playing them (at half time), they just tightened and we took that step up for the last 20 minutes.
"Forty minutes is a long time. At half time, there was really no changes, it was just the rotations were tighter, there was more communication on the floor and with more energy on the bench, we knew we had a chance. I just thought we did a tremendous job in the third quarter. And our defence in the fourth led to our win."
Both teams were cold from the field on Friday night but Harvey looked in hot touch, scoring five points to open up a 7-6 lead midway through the quarter. Late in the term, the players finally started to find their radar, with the Breakers going on a 10-4 run to take a 16-11 advantage at the first break.
It was a horror quarter from the field for both sides, with the hosts going at 6-18 while the Hawks shot at just 22 per cent.
Harvey again came firing out of the blocks in the second quarter, scoring four of the Hawks' first five points, to peg the deficit back to 18-16. But the Breakers then rallied, going on an 8-4 run, to take a 26-20 advantage.
After Tim Coenraad's three-pointer, the game turned into an arm wrestle, with New Zealand holding a 34-29 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.
Harvey and Justin Simon both drained baskets from long range as the visitors pulled the deficit back to one, before Sam Froling's lay up then gave Illawarra a 37-36 advantage.
The Breakers responded with a late Delany three-pointer to wrestle back a 39-37 lead at half time.
Harvey led all-comers with 14 points, while Froling had 11 points and five boards. For New Zealand, Delany had nine points and three assists, and Levi Randolph had eight points and four boards.
The Hawks looked more energetic after the main break, going on a 12-4 run to open up a 49-43 lead when a timeout was called.
After Froling hit two free throws, Harvey took the spotlight, grabbing back-to-back steals and baskets to take their advantage out to 56-43. But the Breakers fought back, with Delany scoring seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to 56-50.
Play continued to ebb and flow for the rest of the quarter, with the Hawks leading by 60-53 at the final break.
The arm wrestle continued in the fourth, as the threes began to rain. Delany hit one for New Zealand, but the Hawks responded through Coenraad and Harvey, as the visitors led 68-61.
Justin Simon then hit two free throws, and Froling's basket gave the Hawks an 11-point advantage. Tai Webster's basket ended the run, before Harvey's three-pointer gave the Hawks a 75-63 lead.
Randolph's basket plus free throw gave the Breakers hope, but Simon's emphatic dunk and a Harvey free throw extended Illawarra's lead to 78-66.
The Breakers continued to fight, cutting the margin to 80-73 with two minutes remaining. But Froling's lay-up and Simon's dunk sewed up the 84-73 victory.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
