They might be dead last but Illawarra showed there is still life in their NBL season, maintaining their hold on Brisbane with a record-breaking 112-81 upset win.
The Bullets lost inspirational captain Adam Gibson (calf) before on Friday night's tip-off and their fortunes didn't change as the Hawks soared to their biggest win in Brisbane in their 40-season history.
The Bullets have not beaten Illawarra since re-entered the league last season, slumping to a 0-6 win-loss tally against the Hawks.
Brisbane looked set to finally break their hoodoo on Friday, with Illawarra seemingly vulnerable after just one win from their opening six games.
But the Hawks did not look like cellar dwellers, at times making the Bullets' home court resemble a Illawarra practice session in a 33-18 second-term blitz capped by an outrageous alley-oop from import Demitrius Conger.
Illawarra (2-5 record) arrived at Brisbane Convention Centre last on the ladder but left confident they could reignite their season after just their second win - both against the now second-last Bullets.
"That's the standard that we need to set. That's how we will have to play every night to fulfil our potential," Hawks centre Andrew Ogilvy said.
For the Hawks, Nick Kay nabbed a season-high 19 points while Conger and Oscar Forman both finished with 18.
Daniel Kickert (15 points) and Perrin Buford (18) were Brisbane's top scorers in Gibson's absence.
"We lead the league in turnovers and that's why teams are beating us," Hawks coach Rob Beveridge said.
"If we take care of the ball, it allows us to run and we showed tonight when we get going, we can be very dangerous.
"But we know we are not a finished product yet."
Brisbane have slipped to a 2-4 record despite hosting four home games.
"We missed Adam Gibson's presence on the floor," dejected Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said.
"But you can't give up 112 points - it was an unacceptable performance from us."
The last time the two teams met 12 days ago, five players were charged and more than $4000 in fines were handed out after a fiery affair.
But the Hawks came out swinging in Friday night's second term to ensure a one-sided fight.
After muscling their way to a 23-21 lead at the first break, the Hawks outscored Brisbane 33-18 to enjoy a 56-39 halftime buffer and didn't look back.
