Basketball On The Internet.

THE ILLAWARRA Hawks last night won an outstanding KO NBL playoff game over an incredibly durable and resilient NZ Breakers outfit to keep alive their fairytale-like story by advancing to the best-of-three semi final series against Melbourne, Justin Robinson perfect from the stripe.

Languishing in last place earlier this season, the decision to axe second-year head coach and proven assistant Jacob Jackomas in favour of Justin Tatum has been vindicated tenfold for the Wollongong faithful who turned up in force (5,178) and sounded like twice as many.

Tatum's highly-successful strategy to minimise the influence of Perth's league MVP Bryce Cotton was applied to the Breakers' finals MVP Parker Jackson-Cartwright to help the Hawks open with a 31-17 first period.

Mangok Mathiang was in early foul, trouble - sigh ... some players take a while to wise up - and Illawarra had "Davo" Hickey and Sam Froling showing the way to the yellow brick road.

Robinson came off the bench and produced the finest game of his NBL career, his 26 points including a sizzling 14-of-14 free throws, his accuracy, muscle memory and composure at the stripe down the stretch a big factor in the Hawks taking the W.

Tyler Harvey hit the floor and returned with his right wrist taped, rarely significant and Gary Clark also appeared slightly hobbled as the Breakers mounted an unlikely second quarter fightback.

Hickey's free throws for a 35-20 lead was Illawarra's biggest but Mathiang, Izayah Le'afa, William McDowell-White and Zylan Cheatham orchestrated an 11-0 response and the game was alive as a contest.

Harvey's 3-pointer stalled the comeback but only briefly, Le'afa and Mathiang maintaining the momentum, Finn Delany stroking a triple and when Jackson-Cartwright scored, it was 42-42 going into halftime.

But the news wasn't all rosey for Breakers fans, McDowell-White, already playing with a suspect shoulder, rolled his ankle during the second quarter and while he tried to play in the second half, his night was prematurely over. 

It was a blow but simply meant others had to lift, the Breakers - minus injured import Anthony Lamb, now McDowell-White, Delany clearly not 100 percent and Cheatham also on one leg - twice finding warrior and club icon Tom Abercombie for his 2-of-2 threeballs.

Meanwhile with Clark also obviously hobbled, Robinson, Hickey and Froling kept the Hawks focused and executing sufficiently well to lead 66-63 with one classic quarter to go.

And what a quarter this was, two heavyweights throwing haymaker plays at each other with no less than 10 lead changes and the scores twice deadlocked at 74-74 and 82-82. Just mind-blowing basketball.

But ahead 83-82 when Cheatham's free throw broke the last deadlock inside the last 90 seconds, New Zealand won back possession and Jackson-Cartwright let a 3-pointer fly, hoping for a 4-point buffer.

It was early, unnecessary and it missed, giving Illawarra back the ball, Le'afa then having the night's second biggest brain fade and fouling Robinson off-the-ball in the open court.

Not only was it his fifth but with 28 seconds left, Robinson again swished his two gifts and Illawarra led 84-83.

A Cheatham turnover led to a Mantas Rubstavicius foul and now Robinson was pushing the lead to three from the stripe at 86-83.

After a Breakers timeout, Jackson-Cartwright drove to cut it back to 85-86 but forced to foul again, Robinson made the lead three once more at 88-85.

Jackson-Cartwright for the tie and overtime, missed and the Illawarra was rejoicing as the Hawks kept their Game 1 appointment with Melbourne in Thursday's semi final series.

The Breakers were brave, the Hawks bold and it was one of the best games of the 2023-24 season. Now it is Illawarra which needs to get everyone healthy, once again the top six format leading to the teams which finished 1,2,3,4 rightly playing the semi finals.

New Zealand dug as deep as it could and Tom Abercrombie walked out with his head held high, a stellar career at an end but his final contribution not to be under-estimated.

And for the Hawks, the fairytale continues. Who knows, like 2001 when Illawarra felt it was a "team of destiny", this version may yet have the best story of them all.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 88 (Robinson 26, Froling 21, Hickey 9; Froling 9 rebs; Robinson 3 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 85 (Jackson-Cartwright 19, Cheatham 14, Mathiang, Le'afa, Rubstavicius 11; Cheatham 9 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 9 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 5,178