“Keep shooting”: Teammates' backing sparks QJ breakout

QJ Peterson’s rise with the Illawarra Hawks has been rapid, and on Friday night he finally erupted, as Davo Hickey and JaVale McGee joined the show in Cairns.

Thrown straight into the deep end since arriving in Australia, Peterson played four games in just a week and capped it off with a dazzling shooting display in the Hawks' 107–90 win.

There was never any doubt about his ability. Just last season in China with Xinjiang FT, he averaged 20.7 points on 39 per cent shooting from deep.

It was only a matter of time before that form translated to the NBL.

He had shot just 4 of 23 across his first three games, which included a heavy home loss to New Zealand, a tight defeat in Adelaide, and Wednesday’s statement win over Melbourne, but his rhythm was clearly building each time out.

Peterson impressed on Wednesday with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, but in Cairns his shooting truly came alive.

He hit 4 of 6 from beyond the arc for 22 points, on a night when McGee (28 points, six rebounds) and Hickey (19 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) also dominated.

"I gotta credit God and my coaches for that, and my teammates, they got on me at half-time in a positive way to keep shooting and keep being aggressive, and to keep picking my spots," Peterson said.

"They told me not to hesitate and they could tell I've been a bit hesitant, but they keep telling me to be aggressive because that's going to help us out as a whole, so a huge kudos to them and to God. He always finds a way to do it.

"It just went in tonight."

Peterson helped Illawarra stretch a five-point lead late in the third quarter into a 13-point buffer by three-quarter time, draining back-to-back threes that sparked plenty of celebration.

That celebration wasn’t planned, and Peterson says he doesn’t have anything else lined up like it during his time with the Hawks. He was simply relieved to see his shots fall, before quickly locking back in on the task ahead.

"It was just a heat of the moment thing and it just felt good to see the ball go through," Peterson said.

"Then I just tried to stay focused in the course of the game and trying not to get too hyped up or too out of control where I might get my fourth foul or whatever the case is.

"It's still having fun in the moment, but there's knowing there's one more quarter left too."