Hawks in decider

The Illawarra Hawks have survived a late scare to book their first NBL grand final in seven years after defeating the Adelaide 36ers 106-98 in last night’s semi-final decider.

Comfortably ahead by 21 points midway through the last quarter, the Hawks had their lead whittled to just five points, as the Sixers produced a remarkable 19-3 run in three-and-ahalf minutes.

Rotnei Clarke (20 points) buried the regular-season champions with a huge three-pointer – his fourth – and an amazing long pass to Rhys Martin for another three.

Game 1 of the grand final series is on Sunday at the Perth Arena.