Illawarra Hawks cop pasting at hands of Perth Wildcats

Tyler Harvey's 17 points was a lone bright spot for the Hawks in an otherwise dismal night against Perth on Sunday. Photo: NBL Media

IF Illawarra fans are wondering which Hawks team is going to turn up, one can only imagine what is going through coach Brian Goorjian's head game to game.

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He could understandably be reaching for the Nurofen following his team's 87-70 pasting at the hands of Perth on Sunday. He may have even sought relief at halftime when his side trailed by a whopping 22 points.

It was second versus third on the ladder but the gap looked far greater as the Cats held the Hawks to their lowest halftime score of the season in a clinical display at both ends of the floor.

Take Tyler Harvey's team-high 17 points at 5-10 out of the equation and the Hawks went 19-54 from the field, while coughing up 17 turnovers in what was undoubtedly a season-low performance.

Harvey was the only Hawk in double figures, with the Cats keeping fellow sharp-shooter Justinian Jessup to just eight field goals for two makes.

Goorjian has been measured in his response to losses so far this season but couldn't hide his disappointment at the performance.

"That was a 50-point beating. The score wasn't an indication of how bad we got beat," Goorjian said.

"I'm expecting a lot through this process, taking the highs and lows, and staying on the high road with this but I had no idea that was going to take place.

"[We have] tremendous respect for them, we knew after the loss in their last game they were going to come after us but I was really excited for the opportunity to showcase the team and what we're about.

"Whether we win or whether we lose during this process, [we just wanted to show] who we are and where we're going and at half-time I was dumfounded.

"We weren't up for the fight, we didn't want any part of it. We got out-coached, out-hustled, out-played and it was just a really disappointing situation. It was like a punch in the face."

John Mooney continued to build his reputation as the league's 'Mr Double-Double' with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while MVP favourite Bryce Cotton had 18 points.

Todd Blanchfield had 16 points against his former team while Jesse Wagstaff played a cool veteran hand from the bench with 14 points.

It leaves the Hawks 7-6 on the season, after going 4-0 to start, and facing an uphill climb to finish the NBL Cup in the top four after clashes with a resurgent Sydney and Melbourne United to round out their campaign.

It was the Cats third game in six days but they brought all the energy, with Goorjian having to stretch to find a sliver lining to the performance.

"I thought they looked a little worn after their last game," Goorjian said.

"I thought [Mitch] Norton looked a little beat up, I thought Bryce [Cotton] looked a little beat up so we wanted to push the ball and move the ball.

"The cornerstones for us coming in was to go after Bryce on the on-balls, keep them off the glass and have the belly for the fight defensively.

"On the offensive end [the focus] was to push and move that ball and make them get back. [We had] nothing for that, the ball stuck in hands, everybody that caught it bounced it, everybody wanted to score.

"When they didn't get shots they were frustrated. [We had] a really bad mindset there. The only positive I can take from it is that I brought those young guys in at the end and they gave it everything they had on the defensive end of the floor and fought.

"Then on the offensive end of the floor I thought the ball moved a little bit so instead of losing by 50 we lost by 17 but I'm scratching my head and we've got a lot work to before we get those Kings."

The Cats were razor sharp from deep in the opening term, going 4-5 from long-range as Blanchfield led the way with six early points and Mooney added five for an early seven-point cushion.

Harvey led all scorers for the term with nine, including his first triple, but the Hawks struggled offensively to return just eight more points, with Perth taking an 11-point quarter-time lead on a four-point play from Cotton.

Adel had his side's first five points of the second, including his first three, while Harvey had an and-one to take his tally to 12 and cut the margin back to five.

Wagstaff quickly shot it back to double digits with five straight points, with Blanchfield's second three and two of three from the line punctuating an 11-0 run for a 15-point buffer in the blink of an eye.

It stretched beyond 20 on six points from Mooney, with the Hawks managing just 14 points for the term in response to trail by a whopping 22 points at the main break.

It was effectively game over, with the final two quarters playing out as junk time with the defending champions lead blowing out to 30 before cues went in the rack.

The Hawks grabbed a Cup bonus point with 24-13 final term but it was little consolation.

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