The No. 3 seed, 76ers GC pulled off the 55-50 win over Pacers Gaming in the first contest of the three-game series during the first round of the NBA 2K League playoffs Thursday. 

Pacers Gaming came into this game hoping to pull off an upset against the 76ers. After having a strong performance in Week 12 of the regular season, the Pacers looked to build on the success early in the game. Going into the second-half, the team led 27-24 behind Swizurk’s 10 points. The small forward finished with 21 points, three assists and one rebound. Ramo, who was awarded first-team All NBA 2K prior the showdown, added 14 points, seven assists and three rebounds. The duos’ strong performances were not enough as the 76ers picked up the intensity in the second half.

The 76ers went into the contest as the favorites, and proved to be just that as they controlled the game early on. The Pacers, however, started hitting their shots late in the second quarter and took the lead. Going into the second half, 76ers GC began picking it up on both sides of the court, and despite the close score, the game broke wide open in the fourth quarter. All NBA 2K League second-team member, Radiant, ran the pick-and-roll all game with Steez, dishing out 12 assists to go with 16 points. Steez finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, one rebound shy of a double-double. 

Despite the Pacers losing the first game of the series, they had strong individual performances from Swizurk and Ramo. The rest of the team, however, will need to contribute more to take the series to a Game 3. The Coach of the Year, Jeff Terrell, led the 76ers to a gritty win and now the team remains the highest seed in the playoffs after Blazer5 Gaming and Mavs Gaming were eliminated Wednesday.