Illawarra's start to their NBL campaign has gone from bad to worse, as they suffered a dismal 121-100 defeat to rivals Sydney.
Having begun their season 0-2 and parting ways with championship-winner Darius Days on Thursday, the Hawks entered Afterpay Arena on Sunday needing a victory to ignite their campaign.
But star point guard Kendric Davis (31 points, six assists, four rebounds) and guard Makuach Maluach (19 points, four boards) dazzled to help the reigning champions Sydney claim their fifth successive NSW derby win.
The loss comes as the Hawks came into this season wanting to shake off last campaign's lacklustre championship defence, in which they finished eighth.
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Guard Milton Doyle was also brought in to help inspire the team, and he had glimpses of brilliance on Sunday.
But he picked up a fifth foul midway through the third quarter, which coach Justin Tatum said he deserved, and any slim hopes of a Hawks victory were dashed.
While Illawarra's misery was compounded, centre Sam Froling (21 points) was busy in his 200th game, while Kelan Martin was a shining light, recording 21 points and seven boards.
"I know our season is going to change drastically and swiftly once we get everybody on the same page," Tatum said.
"There was nothing negative that I said to those guys in their locker room.
"Being depleted (no Todd Blanchfield (hand), Mason Peatling (foot) as we are right now, we were hoping that a couple other guys weren't as consistent."
For the Kings (2-0), they returned to the summit of the ladder as they again underlined their desire to secure back-to-back championships.
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Even American forward Torrey Craig, who slipped awkwardly and missed much of the second quarter with a leg niggle, registered 20 points and three rebounds.
"It's surprised me how well they've played together offensively for the amount of time we've been together. There's a lot of growth for us in that area," coach Brian Goorjian said.
"But the other side of the ball, which was a trademark last year ... has been disappointing."
Davis and Froling sparkled for their respective teams in a hot start, but it was recruit Will Johnston who drained a triple moments before the buzzer to help the Kings lead by four at quarter time.
The Hawks fell apart in the second period as Davis and Johnston led a dominant 20-4 run to set up a 65-45 lead at the main break.
Sydney continued to make light work of their opponents' defence as Milton fouled out.
Illawarra couldn't drag themselves back into the contest, and the home team surged past triple digits, rotated their team and cruised to victory.
