Precious little separated them going into the game and it was a tight affair throughout in Wollongong with Illawarra taking the place of the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL's top six with an 89-85 win.
Both teams arrived at the WIN Entertainment Centre on identical 10-12 records and already having won earlier this weekend.
The Hawks snapped a three-game losing run by winning in Perth on Thursday, while the Breakers kept their improved form going by beating the Tasmania JackJumpers at home on Friday.
That set the stage for a crucial match up on Sunday with a spot in the top six on the line with three rounds and five games each remaining this season.
Every time the Breakers threatened to pull away the Hawks would come back.
New Zealand lead by eight in the first quarter after a Zylan Cheatham (19 points, 11 rebounds) three, but by quarter time scores were tied at 22-22.
The Breakers opened up a 12-point advantage in the second term but again by halftime the Hawks had closed that to 48-42 thanks to a late 9-3 run.
The visitors were clinging to a four-point lead going into the fourth quarter but Lachlan Olbrich (nine points, five rebounds) got the Hawks back into it. Tyler Harvey (19 points) gave them their first lead with 5:45 on the clock.
Both teams lost key players late with Cheatham, Mantas Rubstavicius and Anthony Lamb fouling out for the Breakers, as did Sam Froling for the Hawks.
Gary Clark (29 points, eight rebounds) gave Illawarra the two-point lead at the foul line with New Zealand having one last chance.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright was trusted with the ball, but as he started his drive he lost control. He bounced the ball off his foot with the hosts icing the game at the line thanks to Davo Hickey.
Illawarra scored nine of the game's last 12 points to improve to 11-12 on the season and take the place of New Zealand in the top six.
Hawks coach Justin Tatum was delighted with his team's effort to beat both Perth and New Zealand this weekend.
"The adversity that we came through by missing 14 free-throws, having 10 turnovers in the first half and we just didn't look ourselves," he said.
"Then to find a will to win, it's a true testament of what this team can do."
Breakers coach Mody Maor is still happy with how his team is playing despite the loss.
"What I take from the game is that this is an incredible group of players who really deserve to get to the playoffs," he said.
"I don't think that if you watched any moment that it looked like our team is less intense or cares less or isn't ready to come play.
"That gives me great confidence in the fact that we can win enough games to make it into the play-in, and then I like our chances."
