Thursday, 16 November 2017: Illawarra have conjured one of the biggest comebacks in Hawks NBL history to send the Sydney Kings crashing to a 97-93 overtime loss in Wollongong.

Sydney have found another way to lose, squandering a 19-point lead in Thursday night's 97-93 NBL overtime loss to Illawarra in Wollongong.

The Kings remain alone at the bottom of the ladder with two wins from 10 games and are fighting an uphill battle to remain in the finals hunt.

Leading by 19 in the third quarter, Sydney lost their way in the final period, ruining what was an otherwise impressive Kings debut for former Adelaide star Jerome Randle (28 points).

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American forward Perry Ellis had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while the Hawks were led by AJ Ogilvy (19 points), Rotnei Clarke (18) and Demitrius Conger (16).

"That first half, and throughout most of the game, was our best defensive effort all season," Kings coach Andrew Gaze said.

"When you've got a 16-point margin at three-quarter time, you're thinking that should be enough against most teams, but against this team with the amount of shooters they've got, it wasn't.

"We've got some new pieces that have come in, new talent, so there's some light at the end of the tunnel."

Sydney outplayed the home team for three quarters and took a 72-56 lead into the fourth period before being overrun in crunch time.

The Kings wasted no time asserting themselves in enemy territory, building a 25-14 quarter-time lead and extending it to 46-31 at halftime.

The Hawks' 31 points represented their lowest output for a half all season.

Seemingly down and out at three-quarter time, Illawarra fought back to steal a thrilling victory.

"You have so much belief in your group. We did it against Adelaide last week and it showed the guys that they can do it," Hawks coach Rob Beveridge said.

"The first half was a very poor performance and we got totally outplayed. But the character of these guys is just amazing.

"I challenged the guys at halftime because it wasn't good enough. Our attitude sucked and we had to turn it around real quick, and we did that in the fourth quarter."

Both teams have to back up on Saturday for away games, with Sydney taking on the 36ers in Adelaide and Illawarra up against the Taipans in Cairns.