Sport
21 March, 2025
Delly, United face do-or-die fifth finals series game
The NBL Grand Final series is going down to the wire, as Matthew Dellavedova’s Melbourne United and the Illawarra Hawks are tied 2-2 after the Hawks took game four.
With the series tied at 1-1, United looked to reclaim home-court advantage when the Hawks welcomed them back to the WIN Entertainment Centre.
They immediately made their intentions known, streaking out to an early 10-2 lead with Dellavedova dishing three assists in the first two and a half minutes.
The Hawks quickly composed themselves and went on a strong run to end the quarter up 22-17.
The two teams continued to go back and forth, with Dellavedova making two layups late in the second quarter to cut the deficit to one.
The two teams entered the changerooms at half-time with the Hawks up 42-41.
A Dellavedova alley-oop pass to Jack White punctuated the start of the second half, as another alley-oop from Delly to White six minutes into the third put United up by seven.
Out of a timeout, the Hawks started to soar, going on a 14-0 run to end the quarter, flipping the seven-point lead into the host’s favour as the contest entered the fourth quarter.
Despite the run, United have continuously upped their play in the final 10 minutes, especially Dellavedova.
A Dellavedova assist and steal to help cut the margin to three was the appetiser for what was to come, as Dellavedova caught fire late like he was in NBA Jam.
First, he hit a step-back fade away to give United the lead with four minutes to play, then some fancy footwork in the paint got him open to make a layup.
The Maryborough product made three free throws with just over two minutes to play before spinning away from his man and hitting a floater to ice the game for United with 30 seconds to play.
United went on a 20-4 run in the fourth to win game three 83-77, with Dellavedova scoring nine of those points to finish with 16 points and 11 assists.
The series moved back to John Cain Arena, with United now one win away from NBL glory.
Carrying his momentum from game three, Dellavedova scored half his team’s points in the first quarter, as United trailed 15-12.
The game continued to be a physical contest, with each team having to earn their points.
Dellavedova proved to be United’s main scoring threat in the first half, adding another seven points in the second to help his team lead 32-28 heading into half-time.
United seemed poised to win the championship in front of their home fans, especially with two of the Hawks stars, Trey Kell III and Sam Froling out with injuries.
However, the Hawks continued to dig deep, going on an 11-2 run to start the third quarter as they held a three-point lead at the end of the quarter.
With four points and two assists in United’s first four possessions of the fourth, it looked like Dellavedova would lead his team to the championship with another strong fourth quarter.
But the Hawks started to slowly pull away from United, earning them a fantastic game four victory 80-71 to set up a winner-takes-all contest on Sunday.
Dellavedova fought valiantly for United, tied for the team’s top scorer with 17 points, and led the way in rebounds (seven) and assists (six).