The Melbourne Tigers unleashed a blistering third quarter to stamp their national basketball league playoff credentials and beat the high-flying Wollongong Hawks by 10 points at the State Netball Centre.

The Tigers' 107-97 win was inspired by Mark Bradtke and Lanard Copeland, who rained baskets and rebounds on the Hawks to outscore them 30-11 in a stunning third term, after the Hawks held a four-point lead at halftime.

Bradtke was awesome as always with a game-high 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Copeland had 27 points and eight boards.

Wollongong ground their way back to within six points inside the final minute of the match, but the Bradtke-inspired Tigers had already done enough to secure victory.

The Tigers took a 10-point lead late in the first quarter, but the Hawks cut loose in the second, negotiating a 14-point turnaround to lead 59-55 at the main break.

Up to the plate stepped Copeland with a three, two steals and a two-pointer to spark the Tigers on an 17-1 run at the start of the third quarter to take a 72-60 lead by midway through the term.

With Bradtke mountainous at both ends, Marcus Timmons outstanding at the defensive end and the Hawks defence doing their best impression of traffic cones, the Tigers turned on showtime to open up a 21-point lead at one stage before easing off the pedal.

But the Hawks continue to grind away - with Bradtke fittingly ensuring the game was safe for the Tigers with the final bucket of the match.

The Tigers, who have won five of their past six games since Bradtke's return from an ill-fated stint in Greece, now have a 6-4 win-loss record.

The Hawks are 7-3.

Bradtke, who is still nursing a calf injury, warned he still had improvement left in him and rated the current Tigers team the best he has ever played in - including the 1993 and 1997 championship-winning sides.

"If you look at how deep this team goes, the established guys are getting older but look at the younger guys and how they're doing.

"They keep pushing us. We've never had a really strong bench. Now we have a really well-rounded team - I think the best we've had."

Wollongong coach Brendan Joyce said the Tigers were hungrier than his side and deserved the victory.

"The Tigers got pretty physical out there. They were hungry, they played well, they deserved the win."

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