LaMelo Ball and the Illawarra Hawks captured their first win of the season against Cairns Taipans on Monday, winning on a late free throw from Andrew Ogilvy for an 89-88 result.
Ball had a relatively quiet game by his standards, finishing with just nine points. But he still had many a flashy and standout plays during the contest. While his scoring output was low, he still finished with five rebounds and six assists, stuffing the stat box as normal.
Ball’s first basket of the day came on a breakaway dunk on a fastbreak in the first quarter.
Ball was also involved in a beautiful sequence of passing to go the length of the court before a foul from the Taipans.
Ball’s best scoring moment of the game came midway through the second quarter when he split a pick-and-roll and got to the rim before finishing with his left hand.
His best play of the night, though, was a pass that really showed off his passing vision and skill.
Ball’s last highlight came in the closing minutes of the game when he got to the rim and, as opposed to previous times this season when finishing near the rim, he remained under control and finished relatively easily after shedding off his defender.
Aaron Brooks’ insertion into the starting lineup was one of two changes made by Matt Flinn on the day and it certainly paid dividends. Brooks continues his torrid pace to start the season and the Hawks offense looked more alive, particularly in the third quarter on their way to their first win of the year.
