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Kendric Davis scored 32 points to lead Adelaide past the previously unbeaten Illawarra, 102-100, in a back-and-forth Wollongong firefight.

Adelaide have ended Illawarra's unbeaten start to the NBL season, Kendric Davis the last man standing in a Wollongong shoot-out.

The 36ers led by 10 in the first quarter, trailed by five at the first break, pushed clear again by six points, then overturned a seven-point final-quarter deficit to win 102-100 on Saturday.

Davis had 13 points in the first six minutes, then caught alight in a back-and-forth final term to finish with 32 points.

He silenced the sold-out WIN Entertainment Centre crowd with a clutch triple that followed a Tyler Harvey (22 points) dagger that had pushed the hosts clear again in the final 90 seconds.

Down two and with the last possession, Harvey's wide-open triple to win the game rimmed out, the Hawks slipping to 3-1 and Adelaide improving to 2-2.

Illawarra's Trey Kell looked to have done enough to seal the win against his former team, scoring nine of his 29 points in the first four minutes of the final quarter.

That pushed the Hawks clear by six, but Davis and 36ers forwards Isaac Humphries (17 points, eight rebounds) and Montrezl Harrell (17 points, 10 rebounds) weren't done.

The hosts looked half asleep to begin the game, poor passes leading to turnovers from their first two possessions and another turnover soon after forcing coach Justin Tatum into a timeout after just 62 seconds.

Adelaide kept firing behind Davis and led 14-4, but the Hawks tightened up and shot clear, ending an eventful first quarter up by five.

It was the 36ers' turn to apply some defensive pressure in the second quarter, their efforts ensuring Illawarra led by just two points at the main break.

Jason Cadee, off a Davis assist, put the 36ers up by six late in the third term but that was just the start of a twisting and turning finale that fell the way of Mike Wells' men.