![Gary Clark's 36 points wasn't enough for the Hawks on Thursday. Picture Getty Images Gary Clark's 36 points wasn't enough for the Hawks on Thursday. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ViGe8NXxNszpWGz2Wi7TWd/cd72ec5c-bf42-48fa-9730-eab49b14e441.jpg/r0_0_4173_2782_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Call it sweet revenge at the expense of the Hawks faithful.
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A stunning three-point buzzer-beater from Cairns bench weapon Lat Mayen handed Illawarra a 93-92 defeat in Wollongong on Thursday despite a monster 36-point performance from Hawks star big-man Gary Clark.
It was an ironic twist for the Hawks, who snatched victory in identical fashion through skipper Tyler Harvey on the Taipans last visit to Wollongong. This time, the Wollongong faithful were left speechless at the hands of Mayen.
It came after the Hawks looked to have pulled off a successful rearguard action, with an and-one from Clark giving the hosts a two-point cushion with 12 seconds left.
The Taipans advanced on their final timeout, with Patrick Miller's initial mid-range shot rimming out only for the loose ball to fall to Mayen for the dagger from the corner.
It's the first time the Hawks have dropped consecutive games under Justin Tatum, who said his side missed the jump in what's becoming a concerning trend.
"I'm disappointed the way we kind of started our effort today," Tatum said.
"We talked over and over about how Cairns was going to come out here and give us everything they got and we had to be prepared mentally and physically.
"I'm just disappointed how my guys allowed them to get their motor going and get their confidence built to end up beating us like they did. It's just a disappointing factor for me as a coach.
"At the end of the day, my guys competed to find a way to get back into the game and had a chance to win."
Niiiiiice Gary!
Clark couldn't have given an ounce more.
The 29-year-old was perhaps fortunate to be on the floor after the Basketball Australia integrity unit handing down a suspended one-game suspension on Tuesday after the former NBA big was charged with a DUI offence 12 days ago.
He also copped a $4000 fine, but it's done nothing to curb his on-court form. He dropped a monster 25 points and 15 boards in a double-overtime win over Tasmania, and backed it up with 13 and eight against Brisbane.
The NBL First Team contender had 17 points at 7-8 from the field at halftime, leaving him the only player to really get going as both sides struggled at less than 50 per cent from the field.
The minutes appeared to take their toll late when he went 0-3 from the line with five minutes left, only for him to pile his season-high 36 to go with three rebounds and two assists.
It should've been enough, but the fickle basketball gods had other ideas.
"Gary played unbelievably well tonight," Tatum said.
"I expect him to be the Gary Clark that we recruited him to be and tonight shows that he's obviously getting real comfortable with the style of play that we're playing and how,FIBA works out here.
"I believe he's the best stretch-four in the league. There's things that nobody around here can do. When a team like that goes small and and have McCall or somebody like that guard Gary at the four, we want to make sure we exposed that mismatch and he took advantage of it.
"He got hot early and we was just wanted to feed off him a little bit more, but I think on the defensive end, we just couldn't get stops to get a run."
Tyler Harvey finished with 13 points to be Clark's most potent support act, while Sam Froling had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk had 11 points.
Todd Blanchfield had his best performance of the season from the bench with 10 points, while AJ Johnson had six rebounds to go with his eight points.
Rough night for the Hawks big guns
Star back-court pair Tyler Harvey and Justin Robinson had found their offensive groove of late, but they were ice cold from the field at the Sandpit.
Harvey was 3-10 from the field through three quarters, while Robinson was 0-7 on the evening, his only points coming from the line midway through the fourth term.
As he tends to do, Harvey found a way to hit the crucial shots late, including a deep three that levelled the scores at 87 apiece with 1.44 on the clock, but they were outgunned by Cairns pair Tahjere McCall and Patrick Miller.
McCall stuffed the sheet with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Miller had 13 of his 16 points in the second half to go with five assists, and Mayen's late three took him to 11 points at 3-4 from deep.
Fundamentals a struggle for Hawks
Stats don't always tell the full story of a game, but sometimes they do.
Having been tidy on the glass all season, the Hawks gave up 18 offensive rebounds that saw Cairns grab 29 second-chance points.
On a night that saw three Taipans foul out, the Hawks went 20-32 from the line. That, as they say in the classics, is the game right there.
"Allowing 29 second chance points [was disappointing] and us going for 20 of 32 from the free throw line," Tatum said.
"We were really adamant about working on our free throws this past couple of days since the Brisbane and Tas game because that was something that was our kryptonite and lingered and cost us a game here and there.
"It could have cost us one in Tassie. Guys not focusing and making those free throws at home when they had the opportunity to put the game away or keep us and give us a better lead... we were unable to do that.
Heat turned up as final stretch looms
The Hawks have enjoyed a rapid resurgence under Tatum, but Thursday's loss sees Cairns leapfrog the Hawks into sixth spot on the back of what was the first consecutive loss under the interim coach.
It sees Illawarra fall to 9-11 on the season and piles a mountain of pressure on the the second leg of a home double against Adelaide on Saturday night.