The Illawarra Hawks have put their last-placed finish in the past and triumphed 113-106 against South East Melbourne Phoenix for their first win of the new NBL season.
After winning only three of 28 games in Jacob Jackomas' first season as coach in 2022/23, the Hawks were inspired to a 1-1 record by import Justin Robinson (26 points, seven assists, five rebounds) at home on Saturday.
But it was Korean ace Hyunjung Lee who ignited a late 12-0 run that put the Hawks in position to win the shootout and break an eight-game home losing streak.
"We had a lot of disappointment last year and we never sat in these seats, speaking like this," Jackomas said.
"We're enjoying it (the win), probably a little bit too much.
"We won't get too carried away on Monday but tonight, (the players) they can do what they want."
In the pre-season, Lee billed himself as the "best shooter in the NBL" and he went some way to vindicating those comments with back-to-back threes from each edge of the arc in the last term.
The 22-year-old's clutch baskets lifted the Hawks to a six-point lead and the home spectators to the edge of their seats.
"When we get guys like that who can come cold off the bench and hit, we're going to score a little bit more," Jackomas said.
After Tyler Harvey hit his own triple midway through the fourth quarter, the Hawks had a game-high 11-point lead. They never again trailed.
The undermanned Phoenix showed plenty of heart to take the game on even without injured imports Alan Williams (knee) and Tyler Cook (eye).
Mitch Creek (24 points, eight rebounds) and Will Cummings (28 points, seven rebounds) put the visitors on their backs but the Phoenix could not reel the Hawks back in late.
Illawarra's victory means the Adelaide 36ers are at risk of finishing round two as the only winless team if they cannot upset the Sydney Kings on Sunday.
An offensively focused contest unfolded at the WIN Entertainment Centre, with both sides keen to chance their arm from deep - combining for 56 attempts beyond the arc.
Harvey led the charge early on with 13 second-quarter points as Illawarra took a 60-55 lead into halftime.
By way of comparison, there were four occasions last season when the Hawks failed to score more than 70 for an entire game.
Scoring dried up after the half, with neither side able to kick clear until Lee came on for his fourth-quarter cameo.
South East Melbourne have now won only one of their first four games under coach Mike Kelly.
"It's frustrating, with the group, I think it has the talent to be better than 1-3," Kelly said.
"At the same time, I just look forward to having everyone back and then also building, learning from each game."
