.png)
The Perth Wildcats have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Hawks in their second pre-season fixture, Brian Goorjian's side impressive in the 82-74 result at Bendat Basketball Centre on Thursday night.
There was drama before the match even began due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Sydney on Thursday, the Hawks having flown from New South Wales on Monday.
WA's Chief Health Officer Dr Andrew Robinson gave the all clear for the match to start 90 minutes before tip-off, allowing the game to go ahead after conjecture surrounding the match being played at all.
After losing to the Wildcats on Tuesday night, the Hawks responded with a strong defensive performance spearheaded by import signing Justin Simon who recorded eight steals to go along with his 14 points and five rebounds.
Fellow Hawks import Tyler Harvey again showed why he will be one of the NBL’s most dangerous scorers this season with 18 points while NBL Next Star and Golden State Warriors draftee Justinian Jessup posted 14 points and six rebounds. Deng Deng (12 points) and Emmett Naar (10 points) also made positive contributions for the Hawks in the win.
The game was close for three quarters but this time it was the Hawks who pulled away from their more fancied opponents in a positive sign for last year's wooden spoon side.
John Mooney was Perth’s best player as he amassed a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hawks did a good job of shutting down MVP Bryce Cotton who managed just six points on two-of-seven shooting in an uncharacteristically quiet showing.
IMAGE: Hawks Twitter.