It seemed all about point-guard Justin Robinson, but the Hawks faithful may well have Phoenix guard Ben Ayre to thank for their team's breakthrough victory on Saturday.
A 12-point fourth-quarter explosion from the former Wizard, Piston, Sacramento King and Milwaukee Buck spurred the Hawks to a 113-106 win over South East Melbourne, but it was a bucket on the three-quarter-time buzzer that truly sparked the revival.
The 25-year-old admits it's an aspect of his game that may have run away with him in the past, but he still relishes making it personal with his opposition.
"I've gotten better at not being the initiator to things, but if someone comes to me, it does rile me up a little bit," Robinson said.
"Not that I'm not already energetic, but I think in the flow of the game it kind of turned me up a little bit. I don't know about poking the bear, but I do think the idea of him talking trash was a good thing for me and it was just allowing me to remind somebody who I am.
"My goal is to show who I am and just get back in that flow and show that I'm still one of the best in the world. I love the idea of guarding the best player, or the idea of going against another top point-guard or a top guard that's energetic and is going to talk some trash, and just showing them that I'm going to win the match up.
"I was just excited to be out there and back in a little bit of a groove."
It did take some time, with the Virginia Tech alum 5-12, and 0-5 from long range, through three quarters before back-to-back triples set the game-turning run in motion.
"I think it just shows my maturity and growth internally," Robinson said.
"A couple of years ago, I would have stopped shooting, I wouldn't have continued to shoot threes after going 0-5 or wherever I was. I was probably overthinking but I think to get those makes in and see something actually go through was a big relief.
"Sometimes you can't control how many shots go in and things like that. At the end of the day, you still have to impact the game and winning as a point-guard no matter what's going on.
"Even with the game that I had, I still wasn't shooting at the clip I wanted to. I missed some chippies at the rim, missed some wide open threes from overthinking. Once all that settles and goes down, I think there's more to come."
Logging just short of 34 minutes was also a big step on the comeback trail from injury, the first time he'd played such a long stretch in a live game in more than a year.
It's what first drew him to Australia after averaging just over 10 minutes a game in three seasons with five NBA franchises.
"That was kind of the determining factor to come back to be able to get in that role again, to be able to be myself again and play at that high-minute clip," Robinson said.
"Just the idea of being able to just be that leader that I am and run a team for that long of a game appealed to me, and things are still coming along. My conditioning is almost back to a hundred [per cent], but I'm not back yet in that regard.
"The Sydney game was a day removed from being a year since I played for something that mattered, and a game that counted at a high clip like that. When [full fitness is] back, picking up and running a team and just controlling the tempo of the game is just who I am."
"It'll be my first road opportunity on an away court in the NBL," he said.
"That's exciting for me and just being able to go into an environment like Tassie and Adelaide is just great. I think these feelings kind of remind me of college with how the [home] fans are really into it.
"I think this league as a whole, it's hard to win no matter if it's home or away. That's been shown so far in the games, so if you steal some on the road puts you in a better spot in that ladder."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
