Mavs Gaming Cruises Past Kings Guard to Open Final Week

Mavs Gaming moved past Kings Guard Gaming in an 85-58 victory to open the final week of the NBA 2K League regular season.

While Mavs Gaming (6-7) will need a ton of help from the above them in the standings and for all intents and purposes eliminated from the playoffs, they made sure to keep hope alive in this game while putting on a show. Things were close enough at the beginning, as the Kings (3-9) were putting up a good fight. The Mavs only led by five points after the first quarter and it looked as though we would be in for a close contest.

Once the second quarter got underway, however, the Mavs started turning up the heat a bit. Leading the way was Dayfri, who put up 16 points and seven assists in the first half as the team slowly padded their lead. Still, the lead was a manageable 11 points, which allowed a window for a comeback for the Kings.

Then the third quarter happened.

At that point, the Mavs completely locked down on defense and exploded on offense to blow the game wide open with a 23-11 run in the third frame. The Kings, who have long since been eliminated from playoff contention, looked lost and unable to stand up to the onslaught from Dallas and faded into nonexistence to end the game. With all five members scoring in double digits, the Mavs looked poised and ready for the postseason should they luck their way in. In the likely case that this comes too little, too late, the win was a nice way to gain a bit of confidence heading into the offseason.

 

Warriors Play Spoiler With Big Win Over Pacers

Warriors Gaming Squad upset Pacers Gaming with a 61-60 win on Thursday, putting Indiana’s playoff hopes on life support.

With the Pacers (5-7) sitting two games outside a playoff seed heading into the final week, they needed wins in all three games to even have an outside shot at sliding into the playoffs. The Warriors (3-10) were well aware of this and came into this game with a chip on their shoulders, ready to cause some havoc in the final playoff standings.

Early on, though, the Pacers looked like they were in control of things and picked up a slight lead in the first two quarters. Both vGooner and WoLF 74 were doing their best to keep this team ahead and it was working for awhile. As the second quarter drew to a close, things started to get a bit shaky for the Pacers. Golden State was beginning to wake up and actually moved their way into a one-point lead heading into the second half.

The second half continued much like the end of the first, with both teams jockeying for position. Neither team could break away from the other, which led to a virtual stalemate heading down the stretch.

After trading baskets all throughout the quarter, the Warriors took a slight 59-56 lead with a couple minutes left in the game. The Pacers managed to lock down on defense and put up some buckets that gave them a long-awaited lead in the final minute of the game. They even managed to get a key block late in the quarter that made the lead possible. But then on back-to-back possession, the Pacers crumbled. First, they allowed Vert, who finished with 18 points on 9-of-18 shooting, to waltz right into the paint to take back the lead with just six seconds left in the game. Then, with plenty of time to search for an open look, WoLF 74 rushed a 15-footer that rattled off the rim and could have put an end to their playoff hopes. The Pacers will now have to lock up wins in their final two games and hope for plenty of help from everyone else to sneak into the playoffs.

 

Heat Inch Closer to Securing Playoff Berth

Heat Check Gaming continued their romp through the NBA 2K League with an 80-69 win over Kings Guard Gaming to close out Thursday’s slate.

During the last few weeks, the Heat (8-4) have essentially done no wrong. Their last five opponents have lined up and been knocked right down as Miami has gotten hot at the perfect time to head into the playoffs with a head full of steam. They still need one more win to officially clinch their spot, but that seems to be all but a sure thing given how the team has played of late.

Coming out of the gate in this game, the Kings (3-10) were surely hoping to bounce back from their rough defeat at the hands of the Mavs to open the day. In the first few minutes of the game, it looked as though that might come to pass. The Kings put on a solid showing in the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain themselves once the Heat came alive.

After a close 17-16 first quarter in favor of Miami, the Heat got things moving with a 25-18 second quarter that game them a comfortable lead which they ended up holding onto throughout the rest of the game. With both Hotshot and 24K Dropoff getting easy looks with regularity, there was nothing the Kings could do to prevent their impending doom. Sacramento would manage to put together a few solid possessions during the second half, but it was never enough. Only worthingcolt and mootyy ended the game with more than nine points for the Kings as they continue their slow descent into the basement of the standings with an eighth straight loss.

For the Heat, though, they are continuing to look primed for a deep playoff run. Hotshot once again showed up in a big way, this time tallying a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. 24K Dropoff followed that up with 22 points of his own, while Majes7ic rounded out the scoring with 16 points. They will now turn their attention toward Raptors Uprising GC on Saturday as they look for the final win needed to lock down a playoff berth.