Makur Maker's late three lifts the Hawks past Melbourne United 91-89, and Taran Armstrong's 32 beats Sam Mennenga's 36: NBL weekend roundup

Melbourne United had just gone ahead 89-87 on a Josh Oduro putback at John Cain Arena on Sunday. With just over a minute left, Makur Maker hit a three to make it 90-89. Illawarra added a free throw, United missed at the buzzer, and the Hawks won 91-89.

It was Illawarra's first road win of the season and only their second win from eight games. They came in having lost six of seven.

Hawks 91, United 89

Melbourne led 27-21 after one quarter, with Cole Anthony yet to score. Then the Hawks put up 35 in the second quarter on 16-of-26 shooting, held United to 16, and led 56-43 at the break. The lead reached 16 late in the half.

United came back in the fourth. Down 87-79 with 4:12 left, they scored eight straight to tie it at 87-87, and Oduro's putback put them in front with 1:22 left. Maker answered with his three. On the last possession, Anthony slipped as he made his move, the ball came loose, and Luke Travers' rushed shot at the buzzer rimmed out.

Maker scored 23 on 10-of-14 shooting in just under 20 minutes. Doyle had 16 points and seven assists against his old club, and Kelan Martin added 14. Anthony scored 24 for United after a scoreless first quarter, and Oduro had 16. Melbourne took 29 free throws to Illawarra's 12 and still lost.

The Hawks are 2-6. United are 3-4.

JackJumpers 98, Breakers 92

Sam Mennenga scored 18 points in the first quarter on Sunday at MyState Bank Arena without missing a shot, and New Zealand led 32-31 at quarter-time. Tasmania led 53-51 at half-time and 70-65 after three.

The Breakers then scored nine straight early in the fourth to lead 74-72. Tasmania went back in front 76-74 with 6:41 left, and the lead never changed hands again. It was nine with 32 seconds left.

Taran Armstrong scored a career-best 32 with six rebounds and three steals. David Johnson had 20 and Dakota Mathias 17, and the two made 9 of 20 threes between them. Tasmania took 15 more free throws and forced 18 turnovers.

Mennenga finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds on 15-of-19 shooting, after his 40 points and 18 rebounds in a round 4 loss in Perth. Carlin Davison had 17 points and 11 assists, and Mojave King 18. The Breakers are still without Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Josiah-Jordan James. Tasmania are 5-2, New Zealand 4-4.

Phoenix 115, Taipans 83

Cairns shot 78% in the first quarter on Saturday, led by as many as 12 and were up 35-27 at quarter-time. Then the South East Melbourne Phoenix won the last three quarters 88-48, including the third 27-9, and the lead reached 41 in the fourth.

Nathan Sobey scored 24 in the first half and finished with 29, with 7 of 14 threes. Jordan Hunter had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jonah Bolden scored 17 for Cairns. The Phoenix had lost five of their previous six and are 3-5. Cairns, who came in on three straight wins, are 4-4.

Kings 102, Wildcats 81

Sydney led by 12 in the first quarter on Saturday at Afterpay Arena and never trailed. Perth cut a 17-point deficit to 84-77 in the fourth with a 10-0 run, but the Kings pulled away, and the 21-point final margin was their biggest lead.

Torrey Craig had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Kendric Davis 23 points and eight assists, and Will Johnston 17 on 3-of-4 from three. Perth played without Kristian Doolittle and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. Dylan Windler had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Elijah Pepper went scoreless on 0-of-7 after four straight 25-point games.

The Kings had lost their previous two, including the 102-101 loss to the Breakers in Canberra. It was their sixth straight win over Perth. Both teams are 4-2.

Scoring

Scoring: Hawks 91-89 United (Sunday)

Hawks: Makur Maker 23, Milton Doyle 16, Kelan Martin 14, Sam Froling 12, Tyler Harvey 9, William Hickey 9, Daniel Grida 7, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 1, Lamar Patterson 0, Johny Narkle 0, Kyle Adnam 0.

United: Cole Anthony 24, Josh Oduro 16, Joe Ingles 15, Sam Waardenburg 13, Luke Travers 12, Shea Ili 4, Tom Wilson 3, Kyle Bowen 2, Malith Machar 0, Fabijan Krslovic 0, Austin Shelley 0.

By quarter: Hawks 21, 35, 22, 13. United 27, 16, 22, 24.

Scoring: JackJumpers 98-92 Breakers (Sunday)

JackJumpers: Taran Armstrong 32, David Johnson 20, Dakota Mathias 17, Will Magnay 11, Ben Gold 6, Josh Bannan 5, Nick Marshall 5, Biwali Bayles 2, Kody Stattmann 0.

Breakers: Sam Mennenga 36, Mojave King 18, Carlin Davison 17, Dejan Vasiljevic 7, Nelson Weidemann 6, Charles Bediako 4, Kouat Noi 4, Anzac Rissetto 0, Reuben Te Rangi 0, Izayah Le'Afa 0.

By quarter: JackJumpers 31, 22, 17, 28. Breakers 32, 19, 14, 27.

Scoring: Phoenix 115-83 Taipans (Saturday)

Phoenix: Nathan Sobey 29, Jordan Hunter 19, Angus Glover 14, Yannis Morin 11, Dash Daniels 10, Skylar Mays 10, D'Shawn Schwartz 8, Daniel Foster 7, Patrick Ryan 5, Akech Aliir 2, Sam Davidson 0.

Taipans: Jonah Bolden 17, Reyne Smith 14, Keanu Pinder 11, Jack McVeigh 8, Jaylon Brown 8, Malique Lewis 7, Kyrin Galloway 4, Luke Paul 4, Luca Yates 3, Lloyd McVeigh 3, Walter Brown 2, Shaun Bruce 2.

By quarter: Phoenix 27, 35, 27, 26. Taipans 35, 19, 9, 20.

Scoring: Kings 102-81 Wildcats (Saturday)

Kings: Torrey Craig 26, Kendric Davis 23, Will Johnston 17, Makuach Maluach 16, Andrew Carr 13, Xavier Cooks 5, Jayden Stone 2, Harry Wessels 0, Jason Spurgin 0, Tyler Robertson 0.

Wildcats: Dylan Windler 19, Jimmy Whitt 15, Anthony Dell'Orso 13, Brandon Knight 10, Angus Brandt 8, Cameron Huefner 8, Jaron Rillie 5, Jesse Wagstaff 3, Elijah Pepper 0, Alex Higgins-Titsha 0, Marley Sam 0.

By quarter: Kings 31, 21, 24, 26. Wildcats 21, 22, 20, 18.

What is next

Tasmania host Brisbane on Wednesday, October 21. The Hawks host the Kings on Thursday and Brisbane on Saturday. United travel to Perth on Friday, the Phoenix host Adelaide on Saturday, and on Sunday the Breakers visit Cairns and the Kings visit Melbourne.

Update: Tasmania beat a short-handed Brisbane 106-85 on Wednesday to stay top.