By Rotowire

Blazer5 Gaming got their first win of the 2019 regular season Wednesday when they defeated Warriors Gaming Squad 64-53 in the NBA 2K League.

It was a wire-to-wire win for Blazer5 Gaming in a quality bounce-back effort from the defending regular season champions, and they escaped with the victory thanks to dominant play on the inside. Warriors Gaming Squad made it clear in the early going that they were going to sell out and prevent star point guard Mama Im Dat Man and Blazer5 Gaming from beating them from behind the arc. Blazer5 Gaming obliged, and took full advantage of their opponent’s pressure defense on the perimeter.

Behind the stellar passing of Mama Im Dat Man, who also happens to be the team’s leading scorer, in conjunction with terrific off-ball movement, Blazer5 Gaming was able to get wide open layup after wide open layup inside. The strategy helped them build a halftime lead of seven points, and Warriors Gaming Squad wouldn’t get much closer than that the rest of the way, as they never managed to make it a one-possession game over the course of the final 12 minutes.

The only aspect where Warriors Gaming Squad was able to find success Wednesday was from behind the arc, as they managed to take advantage of what has been a consistently poor Blazer5 perimeter defense. They made seven of their first 10 shots from behind the arc, and their hot shooting kept the game close despite Blazer5 torching them on the inside. That pace, however, was not sustainable, as Warriors Gaming Squad would go on to make just four of their next 12 shots from deep, allowing their opponents to pull away.

In the end, Mama Im Dat Man was able to put on an offensive clinic from the point guard position for Blazer5 Gaming, scoring a team-high 16 points and dishing out 15 assists. His ability to spread the wealth was on full display Tuesday, as three of his four teammates managed to score in double figures. Shooting guard Lavishphenom got hot late and scored 15 points, while OneWildWalnut posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Warriors Gaming Squad was led by small forward Bsmoove, who scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, while shooting guard Gradient was the only other player to reach double figures with 11 points. Center Chiquita, however, did make history by becoming the first female to score in a 2K League game after being selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft.