Sport
14 March, 2025
Matthew Dellavedova’s United 1-1 in NBL grand final after classic game two
Matthew Dellavedova and Melbourne United have just missed out on taking a 2-0 advantage in the NBL Grand Final series after a late Tyler Harvey three allowed the Illawarra Hawks to win game two.
The best-of-five game series is split at one apiece after United stole home-court advantage from the Hawks with a 96-88 victory.
Despite scoring United’s first point of the game off a free throw, Dellavedova’s usual shooting touch wasn’t quite there in the opening stages of the contest, as both teams struggled to get the ball in the basket.
Even as Dellavedova started to find his range, the Hawks began to pull away from United, leading 53-43 at halftime.
Coming out of the main break, United were motivated to reduce the deficit immediately, with a Dellavedova jump shot bringing the margin down to five three and a half minutes into the second half.
United continued that momentum to only trail by three heading into the fourth quarter.
With the game still very much in the balance, Dellavedova managed to kick into an extra gear for the final 10 minutes.
Dellavedova hit a three with around 7.30 to play to give United a three-point lead, then followed it up with an assist on the next possession, setting up Chris Goulding to extend the lead to four.
Dellavedova would hit another clutch three to effectively ice the game for United with just over two minutes to play, as United went on to win by eight points.
Dellavedova would make two extra free throws to finish with a game-leading 18 points while also grabbing seven rebounds and two assists.
The series then moved to John Cain Arena as United looked to put themselves one win away from NBL glory.
Both teams were trading blows right from tip-off, with neither giving an inch throughout the opening half.
It was the Hawks who had the slight edge heading into halftime, leading 51-49.
Despite numerous buckets from Dellavedova, the Hawks used their advantage to pull away in the third quarter, leading by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Similarly to game one, Dellavedova upped his play in the final quarter, helping to ignite a United comeback.
The Maryborough product hit a three with seven minutes to play to cut the margin down to three before assisting the on-fire Ian Clark and Goulding on back-to-back posses-sions to reduce the deficit to one.
As the game reached its apex, Dellavedova bullied the defence to make a layup with less than two minutes to play as the teams were deadlocked at 95-95.
With 14 seconds to play and the Hawks leading by two, Clark was fouled and given three free throws.
He converted all three, giving him 31 points and, more importantly, a one-point lead for United.
United needed a defensive stop to grab a 2-0 lead in the series, but Harvey had other plans for the Hawks, hitting a preposterous three in the face of Clark to give the Hawks a two-point victory.
Dellavedova performed well in the game two defeat, scoring 14 points off 50 percent shooting, grabbing two rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Game three will be played at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday, March 16 at 5.30 pm.