Down to the Wire Finishes Highlights Week 9, Day 2 - NBA 2K League

Down to the Wire Finishes Highlights Week 9, Day 2

AuthenticAfrican, ayeTHREAT Lead Grizz Over Mavs 84-77

Revenge is sweet for the Grizz.

In a shootout between two superstar point forwards, Grizz Gaming (5-6) got back at Mavs Gaming (5-5) for the 41-point loss they had suffered in THE TIPOFF. Although Dimez outshot AuthenticAfrican by eight points, the rest of the Grizz lineup helped AuthenticAfrican claim the win with a decisive 84-77 contest.

The first quarter was all AuthenticAfrican on offense for Grizz Gaming; he scored the first 12 points for Memphis and was causing absolute havok inside the key as a shot-creating slasher. Meanwhile, Dimez took advantage of HazzaUk2K’s hot streak from deep and relied less on his own scoring abilities and instead focused on that of the 25-year-old Canadian’s. The stretch five missed his first three-point try of the game, but found his groove in the corner to hit three-straight triples before the end of the first. That, along with Dimez’ 15 points, gave the Mavs a five-point lead heading into the second quarter.

Grizz Gaming brought the score back to level by halftime thanks to AuthenticAfrican getting some much needed help from his teammates. ayeTHREAT and PHENOM vv were reliable enough to allow their facilitator more open chances in the paint, where he dropped the majority of his 27 points in the first half. The Mavs kept cool with some more three-pointers, including a few from the sharpshooting power forward devillon, ending the half with a 7-of-12 clip from downtown.

The second half continued the back-and-forth affair between the Mavs and Grizz up until the game’s final moments, with ayeTHREAT coming up big within the Grizz’ offense in clutch time. As AuthenticAfrican began to draw heat – which forced him put up only three field goal attempts in the half – ayeTHREAT was usually found open on the wings for a score. All but 6 of his 22 points were scored in this frame, as he got more comfortable looks from inside the key during a strong late game performance.

Although Mavs Gaming had the luxury of a 41 point, seven rebound and nine assist game from Dimez, their other in-game leader, Dayfri, was nowhere to be found. Shooting 1-of-7 from the field and 1-of-5 from deep, the shot-creating sharpshooting point guard could not shake the Grizz’ strong perimeter defense and catch fire, especially in the game’s waning moments.

While the Mavs have one more game on their week nine slate, Grizz Gaming will look ahead to week ten for their next contest against 76ers GC.

Magic Outlast Pacers 69-66 To Stay on Playoff Bubble

Magic Gaming (6-4) are alive and well in the hunt for the NBA 2K League Playoffs after beating Pacers Gaming (3-6) in a tight 69-66 Saturday matinee match. A 24-17 third quarter from the Pacers reset the game after a rough first half, but it was not enough to overcome a brutal early deficit.

The Magic dominated the opening minutes of the game, jumping out to a 10-0 run through a pair of threes and two shots in the paint. On defense, a combination of bad shot selection from the Pacers and solid contests kept them ice cold until just over three minutes left to play in the first quarter when WoLF 74, who struggled early in this game, finally broke the drought with a triple off a fast break.

After that disastrous start for the Pacers, the Magic rode out the first half to lead by seven, only to lose it by the end of the third quarter. With the game level at 53, the fourth quarter began as a slow and defensive affair, as both teams struggled to score in the first two minutes. A quick Pacers timeout allowed them to snap out of their offensive funk and go on a 6-0 run, which the Magic soon squashed by the final minute.

The Pacers’ last meaningful possession started with WoLF 74 finding Swizurk in the corner for a three-point attempt that would have tied the game at 64-64. TuckerLocksUp came away with the rebound for the Pacers, but that second chance opportunity was ruined from a contested deep attempt from WoLF 74 that missed the mark. The rebounding work horse came away with his 16th board and final board for one more shot at a tie ballgame, kicking the ball out to Swizurk who found FrostyTheTruth at the free point line. The ball clanged off the rip, tipped off TurnerLocksUp’s hands and went right to UCManny, who advanced the ball with a timeout.

Magic Gaming then won the game on free throws, clutching up on the line to deal a harsh blow to the Pacers’ playoff chances. Outside of their strong first quarter performance, the Magic’s success can be attributed to their ability to lock down the Pacers’ star point guard WoLF 74. He only dished out 5 assists and garnered 3 turnovers in what was a forgettable day for the usually solid offensive facilitator.

Raptors Uprising Best Bucks Gaming, 80-64

The Kings of the North are starting to rise up in the fight for the NBA 2K League crown.

Raptors Uprising GC (5-6) dominated Bucks Gaming (3-7) 80-64 to end off Saturday’s early morning contests in what was a pivotal game for Toronto’s playoff chances.

It was a game of runs throughout the first half, with the Raptors throwing in the final scoring outburst before the break. Their 13-6 run capped off a phenomenal 17-of-23 shooting performance in a half where KingQuai614 settled comfortably in the paint with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

From there on out, the Raptors did not look back, continuing to pulverize the Bucks on both sides of the court. On offense, Kenny only missed three of his 14 attempts as he drove the Raptors offense machine with 25 points and 9 assists. His ability to cause chaos inside the key left TsJosh free to rain in shots from downtown, where he was 6-of-9 on all three-point tries and 8-of-11 overall in his 22 point performance.

On defense, the Raptors kept forcing the ball over to a cold Game6Drake. He ended the game 4-of-11 from the field, an uncharacteristic performance for the otherwise clutch sharpshooter. oLARRY did as much as he could at the point forward, but his attempt at a triple-double with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists was not enough to overshadow his team’s overall offensive woes.

The Raptors are on pace to make the NBA 2K League Playoffs if they continue to play as they did today through their remaining regular season games. However, their schedule does not get any easier; next week, they face Hood and Cavs Legion GC and will close out the season against a revitalized team in Grizz Gaming and a surging Heat Check Gaming squad.

Shockey Leads Pacers Gaming Past Jazz Gaming in Debut

Pacers Gaming overcame an early deficit to pick up a 76-60 win over Jazz Gaming on Saturday afternoon in the NBA 2K League.

The Jazz (5-5) came out the gate fairly hot and attempted to set the pace early and often. This resulted in a slight 15-14 lead after the first quarter that they then extended to a 23-14 lead in the opening moments of the second quarter. It was at that point, however, that everything came flying apart at the seams for the Jazz.

With the introduction of Shockey into the lineup for the first time this season, the Pacers (4-6) shook off the early deficit and played some of the best 2K that we’ve seen in quite some time.

Whether it was the fact that the Jazz simply had no tape on the fresh center or whether Indiana felt more confident with him in the lineup, the Pacers were certainly on another level in this game.

They ended the game on an impressive 62-37 run to completely blow the Jazz away by the game’s end.

The change in center wasn’t the only boon to this team, however, as it also opened the floor for both Swizruk and WoLF 74 to shine. Swizurk was a forced to be reckoned with from all over the floor as he lit up the scoreboard with jumper after jumper, resulting in 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. For the struggling WoLF 74, he was back at point guard for this game and it paid off with 13 points and a whopping 16 assists. This was all on top of the strong 19-point, eight-rebound performance that Shockey put up in his debut to power the Pacers to a much-needed win.

Blazer5 Cruise Pasy Mavs Gaming

Blazer5 Gaming kept up their romp through the NBA 2K League with a 91-68 win over Mavs Gaming on Saturday.

From the opening tip off, Blazer (9-1) were quite simply playing on a different level than the Mavs (5-6). They got things start with a 6-0 lead before extending that to 10-5 before long. Throughout the first few minutes of the first quarter, the Mavs looked unable to deal with the brisk pace that Portland was setting.

Throughout the second quarter, though, Dallas started to find its groove and knocked the deficit down to just a single point. But once it got things close at 25-24, the defense from both sides was brushed aside as the teams combined for 42 points in the second quarter alone. Even though the Mavs won the quarter 23-19 on the back of 16 points from BallLikeSeem, they still went into the half with a two-point deficit at 40-38.

The third quarter is when Blazer5 completely dialed in and put on a blistering performance that left the Mavs no room to maneuver. By the time a couple minutes had gone by in that third frame, Blazer5 was sitting pretty with an 11-point lead and they simply never looked back. The Mavs were unable to do anything at all to prevent Blazer5 from doing whatever they wanted. It resulted in four members of Blazer5 ending the game with double digits. At the forefront of the scoring for Portland was OneWildWalnut who put up an incredible 30-point, 24-rebound double-double to hand Blazer5 the win. It didn’t hurt that Mama Im Dat Man added in 24 points and 17 assists for his own double-double. There may still be a few weeks left in the season, but Blazer5 certainly look ready and willing to do battle in the playoffs.

Bucks Outlast Wizards in Thriller

Bucks Gaming pulled out a big 84-83 win over Wizards District Gaming to keep their NBA 2K League playoffs hope alive.

Bucks Gaming (4-7) came out the gate with the finish line in sight, as it rattled off six straight points to take an early lead on their road to a playoffs spot. While the Wizards (5-5) put some points on the board before long, the Bucks continued pushing to keep a slight lead heading into the second quarter. It was in that second quarter that things began to get interesting as Boo Painter started putting up some major numbers to keep the Wizards in the game. By the end of the second quarter, he had 24 of his team’s 40 points as the teams went into the half tied at 40 points apiece.

The second half was more of the same as the Wizards and Bucks continued jockeying for position all the way down to the final moments of the fourth quarter. Despite the Bucks picking up a late five-point lead with under two minutes left in the final frame, the Wizards just wouldn’t give up and kept the game moving on a razor’s edge. After the teams traded buckets and free throws throughout the final minute, the Wizards managed to get within a single point with under 10 seconds left. Rather than foul to try and get an opportunity for a tying basket or even a win, the Wizards seemingly went for a steal multiple times and missed every opportunity as the time ran out and the Bucks picked up the win.

It was interesting to see the contrast of the two teams, as Wizards District Gaming relied exclusively, once again, on Boo Painter, who tallied 46 points after taking 28 of his team’s 54 shots in the game. Bucks were aware of that and made sure to spread the ball around with four members tallying 14 or more points in the win. Leading the way was XxSTL2LAxX and his 30 points on 15-of-21 shooting. If the Bucks can keep this up, the playoffs could very well be in the cards.