Illawarra are losing touch with the leaders on the NBL ladder after slumping to a 97-85 defeat to the 36ers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night.

The Hawks were unable to stop Adelaide’s star guard Bryce Cotton who racked up 36 minutes despite being ill, finishing with 31 points, 13 assists and no turnovers in an excellent all-round display.

Illawarra have not won in the South Australian capital since 2021 and they have now lost seven in a row when visiting the 36ers.

Their title defence is fading away quickly with a 4-8 record to sit in eighth spot on the standings.

Although they are only one win outside the playoff equation, they are a long way behind competition pacesetters Melbourne United, who have an 11-2 record, and second-placed Adelaide, who improved to 10-3.

The Hawks managed to keep Cotton from scoring in the opening quarter but after landing two baskets from downtown early in the second term, the former Perth Wildcat lit up the arena.

He ended up registering six three-pointers from 10 attempts and combined brilliantly with centre Isaac Humphries (22 points and nine rebounds) to keep the Hawks on the back foot.

Illawarra’s marquee centre JaVale McGee was held to just 12 points although the three-time NBA champion did manage to bring down 10 rebounds.

"We've had a tough go this whole year and wins are so valuable," said Hawks guard Tyler Harvey.

"We're going to do everything we can to play consistently for four quarters.

“If things don't go right, we can't sulk, we've just got to get right back to it. If we do that, we'll give ourselves a chance against anybody."

Recent recruit Quentin Peterson's haul of five three-pointers from seven attempts was the only silver lining to the team’s performance.

The Hawks held a slender 22-21 advantage after the first quarter and extended that margin to lead 49-44 at the main break.

But with Cotton regularly finding the bottom of the net, the Sixers went on a 27-15 run in the third quarter and outscored the Hawks 26-21 in the final frame.

Harvey top-scored for the Hawks with 21 while captain Will Hickey contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Hawks need to make amends when they take on Melbourne at WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night before they get a week off leading into home games against South-East Melbourne Phoenix on 4 December and Cairns two nights later.