Brian Goorjian labelled Tyler Harvey as great a shooter as Shane Heal after the Illawarra star produced the best performance of his short NBL career in a dramatic two-point win over Cairns.
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Already regarded as arguably the league's best shooter in his first season in Australia, Harvey again caught fire to post a career-high 35 points in the 82-80 triumph.
The American point guard was one of just two Hawks in double figures on Sunday, igniting the WIN Entertainment Centre crowd of 3064 by going 13-24 from the field, including five bombs.
But his heroics almost weren't enough as a stubborn Taipans outfit ensured the contest went to the final 10 seconds, with Jordan Ngatai's attempt at a game-tying triple rimming out.
Hawks guard Justinian Jessup iced the win with two clutch free throws to consolidate fourth spot.
Goorjian, was proud of a team effort in what was their third game in five days, but singled out Harvey for praise.
"I classify him in the great shooters I've coached in that position like CJ Bruton and Shane Heal as far as a shooter and scorer," Goorjian said.
"That's a high class of player."
It was another heartbreaking defeat for last-placed Cairns, who have now lost seven of their past eight, despite getting a season-high 27 points from import Cameron Oliver.
The US power forward also grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out five assists and picked up a steal and block in what was also his best outing for the season.
Development guard Tad Dufelmeier added a career-high 12 points, all of which came after coach Mike Kelly lost star guard Scott Machado for the second half with a bad cork.
Harvey picked up from where he left off in Friday's impressive win over South-East Melbourne, also a two-point thriller, firing 17 first-half points to guide Illawarra to an 11-point halftime lead.
The Taipans' chances worsened when Machado failed to take the hardwood in the second half, however some inspired play from Oliver kept them within striking distance at the final change.
"That's the biggest positive takeaway, that some guys who haven't played a lot, played really well, and played with reckless abandon, which is what I love to see," Taipans coach Mike Kelly said.
"The effort throughout the whole game was something we can hang our hat on."
Australian Associated Press
