Rotowire

This contest between two of the most explosive teams in the league was everything fans could have expected. The first quarter ended 14-14 and neither team was able to gain any sort of advantage, although that changed heading into the second quarter. Shortly before the break, the Hawks went up by six points and seemed quite comfortable leading the way. Warriors Gaming pulled things a bit closer in the third, however, and entered the final quarter down by just five points.

Things went down to the wire in the final quarter, as the Warriors woke up and managed to tie the game down the stretch. Despite a four-point Hawks lead with nine seconds left, a lay up and then a corner two from CB13 the Warriors evened things up at 61, forcing an overtime thriller that certainly wasn’t on the Hawks’ plans.

The Warriors started the overtime on a six-point scoring run and that set the tone for the rest of the OT. Hawks Talon made it as close as two points with under a minute left, but Warriors Gaming closed it out and took advantage of the Hawks’ mistakes. Game 1 finished with a 73-69 OT win for Warriors Gaming.

CB13 was the star of the game for Warriors Gaming with 36 points and eight assists, while Gradient ended with 29 points. Slaughter filled the stat sheet with eight points, nine boards, six assists, four blocks and three steals. BP had 21 points for Hawks Talon, but he also committed six turnovers. Kel had 32 points and had a hot hand all game long, shooting 14-of-16 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range.

Warriors Gaming took advantage of the momentum that generated the Game 1 comeback and didn’t give a chance to Hawks Talon during the first half. A strong first quarter (26-18) was followed by an even more impressive effort in the second period (28-13) and, as a result, Warriors Gaming established a commanding 54-31 lead at the break.

Hawks Talon began the second half with a different approach and tightened things up, but they still entered the final six minutes of action down by 18 points. Warriors Gaming closed things out in the final six minutes of action and cruised their way to a comfortable series win after a 89-66 Game 2 victory.

Gradient paced Warriors Gaming with 31 points while shooting 14-of-19 from the field, while CB13 notched 20 points and 16 assists. Slaughter also produced a strong performance with 18 points and 13 rebounds. BP led Hawks Talon with 29 points, while Lee had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.