Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge says sweltering conditions in Canberra forced him to rethink his game strategy in the Hawks' 82-81 win over Cairns.
The Hawks opted to play their Australia Day home game 244km away from Wollongong at the AIS Arena on an afternoon when the temperature peaked at 41C in the nation's capital.
Drinks breaks were taken during the game as well as the usual three time-outs per half for each team.
Playing an up-tempo game, the Hawks raced to an early 11-0 lead and were up by 18 points in the second quarter.
But they almost paid the ultimate price, running out of steam and falling behind by four before keeping their slim finals hopes alive with a lucky fourth-quarter escape.
Beveridge noticed his players were breathing hard in the second period and altered his tactics to keep them from running out of gas.
"I really felt the game was going to be survival of the fittest," Beveridge said.
"Our guys could hardly move and were really sucking it in massively.
"Both teams didn't cope very well with the heat. It really did help by having an extra time-out and having an extra rest here and there."
The Taipans were playing their third game in five days and coming off Thursday's loss to the New Zealand Breakers in Auckland.
"Conditions were tough for everybody," Cairns coach Mike Kelly said.
"It took a while for our guys to get off the plane from Auckland and get their legs going again."
Taipans star Melo Trimble insisted the heat was no excuse for his team's poor start.
"We practise in conditions like this so we're used to it and we're not going to make any excuses playing in a hot gym," Trimble said.
"I thought we were dialled in but they were more dialled in than us."
