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Knicks Gaming entered this two-game tilt at 2-0, and only needed to split games with Bucks Gaming to cement their spot in the playoff bracket. Milwaukee would need to sweep New York to advance, and that’s exactly what they did Wednesday in a spectacular collapse by New York.

Bucks Gaming’s biggest challenge was figuring out how to contain Duck, Knicks Gaming’s star point guard. Milwaukee’s stiff defense did the job in the first quarter but allowed the Knicks to storm back and trail by only four points at the half. The Bucks ramped up their offensive attack even further in the second half, with Regg directing the pace and draining shots left and right. Regg was brilliant in all aspects of the game and behind his playmaking, the Bucks took the first game, 89-79. Regg ended with 40 points and 14 assists, and ARooks was Milwaukee’s second-leading scorer with 23 points and five threes. OriginalMalik stayed hot for the Knicks with seven threes and 27 points after an eye-popping performance against Miami, and Duck was equally consistent with a 28-point line in a losing effort.

New York’s Game 1 loss created a logjam atop Group 5, and now this final game would decide who moved forward in the playoff bracket. The Knicks began Game 2 by putting extreme pressure on Regg, but he would find a seam often enough to make an impact. New York let Duck loose in the first quarter and he finished with three 3-pointers at the end of the first frame. The Knicks led by five points at halftime, and although Regg’s 14 points kept them competitive, his seven first-half turnovers weren’t helping matters.

The Knicks opened up the third quarter by crashing the boards and continually giving themselves second looks off of missed shots. Duck also continued to score at will, but Milwaukee responded and crept back in the game. Ty converted two consecutive transition jams to cut the lead to one toward the end of the third, and then put a cherry on top of that run with a splashy green three to put the Bucks up by four heading into the final frame. From there, the Knicks seemed to collapse defensively and gave up a series of threes, and with two minutes to go, New York trailed by 11. Knicks Gaming tried to make a late run but ultimately ran out of time as the Bucks took it down to advance, 66-61. After a load of turnovers to begin the game, Regg tightened up and committed only one turnover to lead the Bucks to the win. He finished leading the Bucks with 28 points and nine assists. Duck (21 points) and OriginalMalik (nine points), arguably the engines that run the Knicks, could only convert a combined 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. CantGuardRob picked up the slack for the Knicks with 12 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists.