MAKE no mistake, Illawarra is still Tyler Harvey's team.
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The Hawks talisman has struggled for shooting touch at different stages so far this season, but showed his class on a tough road night in Cairns on Saturday.
Just 48 hours on from a tough home loss to Perth, Harvey had 19 of his of his 24 points in the second half as the Hawks bounced back with a 94-75 win over the Snakes.
It came at a tidy 4-8 from deep, while Justinian Jessup had an understated double-double with 17 points and 10 boards.
Sam Froling had seven o-boards in his 11 points and 12 rebounds and Antonius Cleveland added to his growing highlight reel in putting Taipans big Keanu Pinder on a poster midway through the final term.
It was the final bucket in his 15-point tally, with Duop Reath also contributing 15 points in the win.
Harvey's effort was the type that spearheaded the Hawks finals charge last season, and coach Brian Goorjian says he's never lost an ounce of faith in his franchise man.
"I know everyone else has been [critical] but certainly not me," Goorjian said.
'We invested in him because we believe in him. This league's tough, he's going to get targeted and you're going to have some highs and lows through the process.
"You just want him to know, when he has these down times and he's struggling a little bit, that you've got his back and you believe in him.
"I firmly believe in him as a teammate and as a leader on this group and he's going to get us where we want to go.
"He shot the ball well tonight, we got him a little more rest. That's been a conversation point, he played the whole second half the other night.
"It's a little bit, but 34 minutes instead of 38 seemed to make a bit of difference and I thought our minutes and our rotations were a bit better."
The Hawks certainly didn't have it their own way, with the hosts twice reeling in double-digit margins to level the scores without ever taking the lead.
In the end, they simply couldn't go with the Hawks in the final term, the visitors finishing the game on a 15-5 run.
The Taipans's chances effectively went to the bench with Tahjere McCall, who had 19 points seven rebounds and six assists before picking up his fifth foul early in the fourth term - replays showing he was probably hard done by.
Coach Adam Forde got plenty of productivity from his bench, with Pinder notching the second double-double of his NBL career with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Jordan Ngatai had all of his 12 points from three-point range.
The crucial win takes Illawarra to 6-4 ahead of Wednesday's road clash with New Zealand.
The Hawks shot out to an early 10-3 lead, four points to Sam Froling, though Goorjian called an early timeout after his team gave up a cheap four points to cut the margin.
Cleveland had four points on a 6-0 run that prompted Forde to call time in a streaky first term.
The runs continued, with the Hawks opening up a double-digit lead on back to back threes to Harry Froling and Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
McCall finished with the last six points of the term on a 7-0 run for his team, taking his personal tally to 11 despite struggling at 5-9 from the foul-line.
Harvey had his first points from long range early in the second, with McCall was forced to sit with his third foul soon after.
Reath got in on the act from deep, with Marshall Nelson firing back with a triple to lock the scores at 31 apiece.
The long bombs continued to fall, with Jessup knocking down another from deep, while Ngatai had wide open looks for a pair of triples, the second cutting the margin back to three on halftime.
Harvey and Cleveland had threes on an 8-2 run to start the third, with the margin shooting out to 11 and forcing Forde into a timeout.
In response, McCall had four points on a 6-0 run to take his tally to 17 and forced a furious Goorjian to halt proceedings.
Cairns extended the run to 12-2 before Harry Froling and Tim Coenraad nailed consecutive threes for a nine-point cushion, with McCall forced to sit with his fourth foul, a costly one on Froling at the Hawks end.
Bul Kuol fired back from deep, but Harvey had the final say with a nasty step-back triple to ensure his side kept the lead at nine at the final break.
Harvey kept things ticking in the fourth with seven points, drawing a fifth foul from McCall for the latter two.
Pinder had six to keep the Snakes in touch but Cleveland's slam was the final momentum shifter as the Hawks shot well clear down the stretch.
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