Cooks mustered 19 points and 10 rebounds as Sydney claimed a 79-73 win to keep their playoffs hopes alive. Teammate Jarell Martin also managed a double-double with 23 points and 10 boards.

For the Hawks, Tyler Harvey spent the whole night on the bench, while Justin Simon and Deng Deng were given limited game time. Instead, Illawarra's youth led the way, with Emmett Naar, Sam Froling and Isaac White scoring 12 points apiece.

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It was the Hawks' fourth game in the past week. The result, played in front of more than 3000 fans, means that Illawarra will enter next week's finals on the back of a loss, and could finish the regular season in fourth spot.

"It felt good tonight., I felt good in the warm ups today. I just let it fly, the team trusted me to shoot the ball so I did that tonight, and it went in," Cooks said.

"It was a huge win. And being in my home city, I loved it. The team really battled tonight, there was a lot of heart out there. And it was a good win.

"I got a couple of boos out there (from the crowd), but I don't really mind. I still love them, it's all good."

Hawks coach Brian Goorjian pulled a surprise before tip-off, with Harvey starting on the bench.

Both teams were cold in offense early, with Sydney's Cooks finally ending the drought after 90 seconds. The Kings were able to go on an 8-0 run before Justinian Jessup nailed Illawarra's first basket after four minutes.

At the other end, Cooks drained a three-pointer to give the Kings an 11-2 lead. The visitors continued to look the more dangerous side, extending their advantage to 17-6, before Sam Froling mustered a basket plus free throw.

Late in the term, Deng Deng's three cut the deficit to eight points, before Deng's buzzer-beating lay up saw the Hawks trail by 21-15 at the first break. Illawarra was ice cold from the field, going at just 27 per cent, while Sydney went 7-16 from the field.

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The Hawks shot out of the gates in the second, going on an 8-2 run - highlighted by Tim Coenraad and Lachie Dent threes - before a timeout was called. Dent's second three-pointer gave the Hawks a 26-23 lead.

The contest then turned into an arm wrestle, with the Hawks leading by 33-32. But it was Sydney who grabbed the ascendancy, going on an 13-2 run to lead by 45-35. Coenraad was able to finally end the run with a trademark three-pointer, as the Hawks trailed by 45-38 at half time.

Sydney's Martin led all-comers with 16 points and eight rebounds, while teammate Cooks had 11 points and four boards. For Illawarra, Jessup scored eight points, while Dent mustered six points and four assists.

The arm wrestle continued in the third quarter, with the Kings taking a 55-49 lead. Ware's lay up then gave the visitors an eight-point buffer.

But the Hawks lifted, with an Isaac White three, Froling basket and White lay up cutting the deficit to 57-56. White's third bucket in minutes, followed by a Dent basket, then gave the Hawks a 60-57 advantage.

The Kings missed four free throws in a row, but Cooks' late basket cut the margin to 60-59 at the final break.

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The Hawks, on the back of Froling and Naar, shot out of the blocks in the fourth to extend their lead to 66-63. But Justin Hunter's dunk then again dragged the deficit back to one.

After a timeout, the Kings lifted, scoring the next eight points to take a 73-66 lead. But Froling's free throw ended the run, before Coenraad's three cut the deficit to 73-70. But Sydney again steadied, with Cooks and Shaun Bruce draining threes to give the Kings a 79-70 lead.

Naar mustered a late three-pointer, but the visitors were able to claim a six-point win.

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