The Hawks trailed by 10 points in Saturday night's first half at WIN Entertainment Centre before wearing down a Bullets side coming off Thursday night's home win over Perth.

Veteran centre David Andersen and Tim Coenraad finished with 12 points apiece for Illawarra, while Cedric Jackson added 11.

Bullets guard Cameron Gliddon led all scorers with 24 and Reuben Te Rangi had 14 for the visitors.

Brisbane came out firing at will from the perimeter, attempting a whopping 17 three-point shots and sinking eight in the first period alone to set up a 30-22 quarter-time lead.

Gliddon was particularly hot, connecting on five from seven three-point bombs.

Brisbane stretched the margin to 10 before the home team tightened defensively and pulled ahead by a point.

The Hawks dominated the remainder of the period, outscoring their opponents 24-3 during one long stretch for a 51-42 halftime lead.

Conklin and Andersen led their team with 12 points each, while Gliddon had 18 for Brisbane, all from the three-point line.

The Bullets cut the deficit to one point early in the second half before the Hawks responded again to take an 81-72 lead into the final quarter.

They built a 16-point lead and answered every Brisbane challenge down the stretch.

Illawarra face an away game on Monday night against titleholders Melbourne United, while Brisbane host Adelaide on Thursday to tip off round four.

Australian Associated Press