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JACK White early and Matthew Dellavedova late combined in Wollongong today to steal Grand Final Game 3 and take a firm grip on the NBL Championship Series for an always professional United unit, as Illawarra bungled and blew its opportunity after leading by as many as 10 in the final quarter, succumbing 77-83.

Despite missing his first seven shot attempts, Ian Clark finished with 16 points and went 5-of-10 the rest of the way.

In effect it was Melbourne's three NBA champions - Delly at Cleveland, Clark at Golden State and Whitey at Denver - who set the tempo and regained the momentum after Illawarra drew some exceptional minutes from Darius Days and threatened to blow this match out.

Once again, Melbourne's Dean Vickerman showed why he is a three-time championship coach and a triple Coach of the Year award winner by outfoxing Justin Tatum who erred, yet again, by leaving Sam Froling anchored to the bench for far too long.

Froling played 22 minutes, just over half the game, for his eight points and fellow big-man starter Mason Peatling, who was very efficient, saw just 16:31 of daylight for his eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.

White, who fouled out of Game 2 without attempting a single shot, opened the match with a confident 3-pointer, Chris Goulding added another and when he curled in a reverse, Melbourne was off to an 8-0 start.

Kell was on his way to posting another Missing-In-Action playoff performance but Froling and Peatling combined to get Illawarra moving, Hyunjung Lee also active and Will Hickey hitting a three for a 16-15 turnaround.

Two early fouls on Tyler Harvey (7 points, 3-of-11, 0-of-7 threes) sent him on his way into joining Kell (10 points, 4-of-9, 8 boards, 3 assists, 6 turnovers) as a non-factor, the Hawks' depth grafting a 21-15 buffer on a 21-7 recovery which included an 11-0 run.

Froling kept the lead at seven in the second period before Todd Blanchfield produced his one useful moment, a driving layup for a 26-17 buffer.

Another Hickey triple kept the lead at 9 (31-22) before Clark had two points either side of a White run of seven straight points. Melbourne's defence, even without Shea Ili (concussion protocols) also locked in.

Two Dellavedova drives sliced the deficit to 39-40, the Hawks paying a heavy price for not capitalising when United was looking shakey.

Goulding free throws had United in front before Tatum took time-out and set up a sweet final play which led to a Kell layup and 42-41 halftime Hawks lead.

Melbourne sprinted out of the halftime blocks, Clark and White threes amid a scoring run that swung the momentum back and swept United ahead 50-44.

A Goulding triple made it a seven-point spread and Dellavedova kept it there after Kell pulled back a three. Just over four minutes out from the last break, United had seized the initiative to enjoy a 60-53 edge.

It needed to be a greater buffer because now it was Hickey and Days' time to turn back the tide.

The duo ignited a whopping 14-0 run to the end of the period, Hyunjung Lee's three bringing fans jumping from their seats as Illawarra raced 67-60 clear.

When Days started the final quarter with a driving hoop, the run was at 16, the Hawks flying off 69-60.

Clark's free throw trimmed a point off the deficit before Days scored again and the lead was 71-61.

And from that point to the end of the contest, Illawarra's naivety at best, immaturity at worst, and United's professionalism could not have been more starkly contrasted.

Dellavedova orchestrated the United retaliation, a 9-0 outburst for a 70-71 deficit which broke Illawarra's spirit. 

Consecutive Delly drives first gave United the lead 74-73 and it was for keeps at 76-73. Reduced to playing chasey, the Hawks had sealed their own fate, Dellavedova with nine of his 16 points in the final quarter, not to mention, assists, steals, defensive boards and generally being the floor general. In 35 minutes, he also had zero turnovers.

Toupees doffed as well to Vickerman, who gambled early on Tom Koppens, drew big minutes from Kyle Bowen and, most importantly, put his club within one home win of claiming its third championship. 

NBL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SCHEDULE (Best-of-Five Grand Finals)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS v MELBOURNE UNITED

Game 1: Melbourne United 96 (Dellavedova 18, Goulding 15, Lee 14, Ili, Lee 15 rebs; Clark, Goulding, Ili 4 assts) d Illawarra Hawks 88 (Froling 16, Hickey 14, Blanchfield 13, Swaka Lo Buluk 11; Hickey, Froling 7 rebs; Hickey 8 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong. Crowd: 5,491 Melbourne leads series 1-0

Game 2: Illawarra Hawks 102 (Harvey 24, Froling 23, Kell 18, Swaka Lo Buluk 12; Kell 8 rebs; Kell 6 assts) d Melbourne United 100 (Clark 31, Goulding 17, Dellavedova 14, Krebs 12; White, Lee 6 rebs; Lee, Dellavedova 5 assts) at John Cain Arena, Melbourne. Crowd: 9,135 Series tied 1-1

Game 3: Melbourne United 83 (White 20, Dellavedova, Clark 16, Goulding 14; Lee 8 rebs; Dellavedova 11 assts) d Illawarra Hawks 77 (Hickey 12, Days 11, Swaka Lo Buluk, Kell 10; Kell 8 rebs; Kell 3 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong. Crowd: 5,512. Melbourne leads series 2-1

Game 4: Wednesday, March 19, John Cain Arena, Melbourne, 7:30pm AEDT

Game 5 (if required): Sunday, March 23, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, 2:30pm AEDT