Illawarra Hawks’ NBL title defence is back on track after their ending their three-game losing skid to start the season.

The Hawks thumped Brisbane Bullets 116-89 at WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday and now turn their attention to a tough road trip to Melbourne this Saturday when they will take on the Phoenix, who have won two of their opening three matches.

After making the difficult decision to sack import guard JaQuori McLaughlin last week less than a month into his contract, Illawarra played with much more cohesion against the Bullets.

They shot out of the blocks to open up a 25-3 lead by the mid-point of the first quarter and never looked like losing from that point onwards.

Hawks guard Tyler Harvey was the star of the show with a career-high 10 assists to complement his 22 points and five steals.

Star import JaVale McGee was kept quiet with only 13 points with veteran forwards Todd Blanchfield and Mason Peatling matching that total.

McGee also pulled down 12 rebounds while dominating the paint for the home side.

Illawarra, who landed 11 of their 25 three-point attempts, led 34-18 after their blazing first quarter.

They maintained their momentum in the second term to lead 68-47 at the main break and after going into the final break with an 18-point advantage, they were able to cruise to the finish.

Harvey, Blanchfield and Peatling buried consecutive triples at the start of the fourth quarter to allow coach Justin Tatum to give his bench plenty of game time in the closing stages.

Development guard Johnny Narkle opened his NBL account with a three-pointer while Biwali Bayles scored 12 points and four assists in his 20-minute stint.

After taking on the Phoenix, the Hawks will take flight again next week for a Saturday night showdown against the Wildcats in Perth before returning to Wollongong on Halloween for a clash with New Zealand Breakers.