The Wollongong Hawks overcame a slow start to storm past the Adelaide 36ers 77-63 at Adelaide Arena on Sunday.

Hawks point guard Adris Deleon turned the stadium into his own personal playground with a stunning fourth-quarter exhibition, the Dominican racking up 16 points at 86 per cent to finish with 23 points and seven assists.

With tremendous support from American Lance Hurdle (17 points) and Larry Davidson (12 points, 7 rebounds), the Hawks overcame a three-quarter-time deficit to prevail comfortably with a lop-sided 30-14 final-term flurry.

"We felt we dodged a bullet," McLeod said. "We thought we probably should have been 15 or even more down at half-time, but we found a way to hang around.

"Adris's last quarter for us, with his ability to break people down, get to the hole and make some threes, really made it hard for Adelaide.

"We rebounded really well down the stretch, which didn't allow a lot of second-chance points."

For Adelaide, forward Anthony Petrie tried his heart out for 16 points but no other 36er could manage double figures.

The Sixers started in sparkling fashion with an 8-0 headstart that turned into a 19-7 advantage.

In-form Adam Gibson (nine points, three assists in the first quarter) was at the forefront of the 36ers' transition game, but the London Olympian was held scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting after quarter-time.

Meanwhile the home side's defence was denying the Hawks good looks, the visitors held to just 25 per cent from the floor in the first term.

Wollongong rallied late through American Lance Hurdle to peg the difference back to five points, before a superb steal and finish from Adelaide import CJ Massingale gave the 36ers a 21-12 advantage at the first change.

With Larry Davidson stepping up offensively and Dave Gruber (11 rebounds) controlling the boards, the Hawks reduced the gap to two points late in the second stanza.

Adelaide's 7-0 run was then answered by a long buzzer-beater from Hurdle to leave a 36-30 scoreline at the main interval.

The Hawks continued to clip at Adelaide's heels in the third but couldn't quite seize enough momentum to steal the lead.

Daniel Johnson's missed open dunk with 7min 13sec on the clock looked like it could prove costly when Wollongong rattled off the next six points, but the Sixers held firm.

A spectacular alley-oop from Gibson to the jet-heeled Mitch Creek kept Adelaide in front 49-47 after three quarters.

Following three score ties, Wollongong finally conjured its first lead when Deleon slotted a triple with 5min 37sec remaining.

Adelaide's offensive execution then wilted badly and their defence was repeatedly carved up by Deleon as Wollongong cruised to victory.

"On the back of Mitch's dunk, we were up seven and we really should have pushed on from there," Clarke said.

"The next three possessions were turnovers and that's when the momentum swung. It was certainly a game that we were in a position where we should have won.

"I don't think we worked hard enough in offensive transition. We panicked a bit and went off in our own direction, as much defensively as offensively."

Wollongong Hawks 77 (DeLeon 23, Hurdle 16, Davidson 12)
Adelaide 36ers 63 (Petrie 16, Gibson 9, Weigh 8)

Crowd: 4720 at Adelaide Arena