BRISBANE sizzled then fizzled to fall to an 86-78 loss to Illawarra in Wollongong on Saturday night.

After a stirring win over the previously unbeaten Perth on Thursday night, the Bullets were red-hot in the first quarter.

They hit eight three-pointers to scorch to a 30-22 lead at the first break with guard Cam Gliddon dropping five triples from seven attempts in a blistering shooting performance.

But Brisbane went cold - ice-cold - in the second term as the Hawks ran rampant over the visitors, going on a startling 22-4 stretch when the Bullets missed 10-straight field goal attempts.

The 29-12 second quarter earned Illawarra a 51-42 buffer at halftime with big men Brian Conklin and David Andersen adding 12 points apiece for the Hawks who did a wonderful job of seizing the momentum with their bench players and shutting down Gliddon.

Brisbane showed signs of life with the first eight points of the third quarter but Illawarra settled and kicked away again with a long range Kevin White buzzer-beater handing the Hawks a 70-58 advantage at the last change.

The Bullets closed to within six points of Illawarra with 93 seconds left in the contest to put the home side under some pressure but Hawks imports Cedric Jackson and Jordair Jett steered their side to victory.

Gliddon top-scored for Brisbane with 24 points, four rebounds and five assists with all his points coming from three-pointers.

Reuben Te Rangi had 14 points and six rebounds for the Bullets while centre Matt Hodgson had 11 points and six rebounds. Cam Bairstow had eight points and eight boards.

Brisbane’s solitary import Stephen Holt had just four points from three shots in 13 minutes on court and is lucky to not be going back to the US with departing American Alonzo Gee who parted ways with the club yesterday.

Conklin had 17 points for the Hawks who had contributors all over the floor with Jackson (11 points, four rebounds, five assists) and Tim Coenraad (12 points, five rebounds) amongst the influential Hawks.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 86 (B Conklin 17 D Anderson 12 T Coenraad 12) BRISBANE BULLETS 78 (C Gliddon 24 R Te Rangi 14 M Hodgson 11) at WIN Entertainment Centre