The Hawks were down by 10 points in the third quarter but were dragged back into the contest by Antonius Cleveland, Justinian Jessup and Xavier Rathan-Mayes, to march to an 83-77 victory in Melbourne.

Harvey's only point came from the free-throw line in the closing stages after 25 frustrating minutes of court time.

However, Rathan-Mayes clocked 19 points while Cleveland finished with a flurry to have 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Jessup had 15 points and seven rebounds.

"It's a big win, we've started playing good right now when it matters, we've just got to keep stringing them together," Cleveland told Fox Sports. "We can't have any slip-ups."

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It keeps the Hawks in the top four, after Perth and Sydney also recorded wins, with away games against Tasmania and a rematch against the Phoenix to come in Wollongong in the next fortnight.

Rathan-Mayes and Isaac White sparked the Hawks into action in the second quarter, after scoring just four points for much of the term.

The score was locked at 33-all at the main break, after a contest which the Phoenix star Mitch Creek threatened to break open early but was matched by the response of Duop Reatch to be level at 18 each after one period.

Meanwhile, Perth kept their gap on the Hawks and Kings on the NBL ladder with a 92-73 victory over Adelaide.

The Wildcats led from the outset, with Bryce Cotton finishing with 27 points and seven assists, while Todd Blanchfield has 22 points, including five three-pointers and nine rebounds and Victor Law was also instrumental with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

"I thought offensively we clicked pretty well, we were pretty efficient, shot a good percentage and made the most of our opportunities," Perth coach Scott Morrison said. "Defensively, it was a bittersweet effort ... any time you give up 22 offensive rebounds, you have to feel pretty fortunate that you came away with the win."

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Daniel Johnson was a standout for Adelaide with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

And the Sydney Kings ensured the playoffs blowtorch remains squarely on the Hawks with a 98-88 win over Cairns.

Illawarra junior Xavier Cooks led the way with 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while Jaylen Adams recorded 21 points and Jarell Martin had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Sydney coach Chase Buford was pleased with the Kings' offensive execution - but not so much their defensive efforts.

"That's three games in a row where our defence hasn't been to the standard that we hold ourselves to," he said.

"With that being said I thought offensively we did a good job of attacking their pressure, playing behind their press and getting easy baskets in transition." with AAP

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