THE TURN Rewind: Warriors Gaming Squad Conquers Vegas
May 13, 2019
Take a look back at the week that was in the NBA 2K League with a collection of the best games, performances, highlights and more from around the 2KL world.
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Games of the Week
Warriors Gaming Squad 58, 76ers GC 39: The league’s first tournament held on the West Coast was fittingly won by a West Coast team. The outcome of the championship game was hardly in doubt, an impressive feat for upstart Warriors Gaming Squad against a perennial tournament title contender to capture THE TURN crown. It’s been a remarkable turnaround for this bunch from the Bay Area, who went through more than their fair share of struggles last season. The perseverance paid off as CB13, Gradient, Bsmoove, Jin, Type and Chiquita deservedly hoisted the trophy in Las Vegas.
Jazz Gaming 56, T-Wolves Gaming 53: Things were looking bleak for Jazz Gaming, who trailed by 17 points in the first half in a game that looked poised to be a blowout. They slowly whittled the lead away, finally going ahead for the first time in fourth quarter. No. 1 overall pick Ria ensured the victory with a steal on the final possession to complete the comeback for the team’s first semifinals berth.
76ers GC 57, Celtics Crossover Gaming 53: A rematch of the finals at THE TIPOFF played out in the same fashion, with 76ers pulling out the win. Any time Radiant and oFAB are on the court together, it’s must-watch viewing. The two point guards battled it out, but it was Radiant’s 27 points that were the difference in holding off Boston’s late rally attempt.
Warriors Gaming Squad 64, Mavs Gaming 60: There is not a whole lot of love lost when these teams meet. Mavs Gaming entered the game as the tournament’s No. 2 seed and riding more momentum than any team in the league. That couldn’t save them in a third quarter in which they were outscored 22-9 as WGS completely turned the tide. It would serve as the defining point of their run to the championship.
T-Wolves Gaming 63, Blazer5 Gaming 59: There’s been a lot of talking by Blazer5 Gaming the past few weeks, and justifiably so as they’ve been on a tear. But BearDaBeast23 and T-Wolves Gaming found a way to silence them, putting together a methodical win to knock third-seeded Blazer5 Gaming out of the tournament before they could even get settled in.
Outstanding Performances
Type, Warriors Gaming Squad (14 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals, 7/7 FG) vs 76ers GC; (20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 9/9 FG) vs Jazz Gaming: Type was named tournament MVP following a dominant weekend performance. He came up huge in the final two games of WGS’s title run on both ends of the floor, shooting a perfect 16 of 16 from the field in the process. Not too shabby for a guy whose calling card is his defense.
Arooks, Bucks Gaming (29 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) vs Kings Guard Gaming: One of the league’s MVP contenders, Arooks put together a scoring clinic at the tournament in averaging 27.0 PPG. His most important contributions came against Kings Guard Gaming, as he scored more than half of Bucks Gaming’s points to propel them into the semifinals.
Steez, 76ers GC (19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 6/6 FG) vs Bucks Gaming: It’s time for the guy who does all the dirty work to get some love. Steez simply plays his role and contributes at a high level where he needs to. He was efficient in this one, going perfect from the floor and helping limit Plondo of Bucks Gaming on the other end to get 76ers GC into the finals.
Gradient, Warriors Gaming Squad (23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) vs Mavs Gaming: Gradient turned in one of his better all-around performances of the season in an upset of Mavs Gaming, who entered on an eight-game winning streak. He helped spark a huge third quarter turnaround in which WGS used its smothering defense to rattle their foes from Dallas.
Gliz, Jazz Gaming (20 points, 6 steals) vs T-Wolves Gaming: His play at power forward this season has given Jazz Gaming new life after a slow start. His forte is scoring, which he led all players in this one, while also forcing 6 steals on the defensive end. The win pushed Jazz Gaming into the semifinals of a tournament for the first time.
oFAB, Celtics Crossover Gaming (30 points, 15 assists) vs Nets GC: This came in one of the first games of the tournament, and in a 34-point blowout no less, so the implications weren’t as high as some later matchups, but any point guard putting up these numbers deserves recognition. Although, oFAB would gladly trade in this performance for a win over 76ers GC in the quarterfinals instead.
Must-See Plays
Have a safe flight.
.@MelEast2k did THAT! ✈️😱@CLTXGaming are up BIG in 2Q live on @Twitch and @YouTube. pic.twitter.com/2TP6GtjbAf
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) May 9, 2019
That’s not a nickel, that’s a dime.
.@uncool_matty with the dime to @WoLF__74, and @Pacers_Gaming takes the lead.
Watch #THETURN Powered by @ATT LIVE on @Twitch and @YouTube. pic.twitter.com/xF8wawx6PS
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) May 10, 2019
One hand, don’t care.
.@type with the one-handed alley-oop! 👀
Watch #THETURN Powered by @ATT LIVE on @Twitch and @YouTube. pic.twitter.com/kJBJOi5mfa
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) May 12, 2019
Bear goes behind the back.
Behind the back! @BearDaBeast23 is off to a hot start for @TWolvesGaming in Q1.
Watch #THETURN Powered by @ATT LIVE on @Twitch and @YouTube. pic.twitter.com/rGqBzE19xd
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) May 10, 2019
Caught his man sleeping.
.@Chaddynick with the ACROBATIC alley-oop. 👌
Watch #THETURN Powered by @ATT LIVE on @Twitch and @YouTube. pic.twitter.com/FVnJLuTu3s
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) May 11, 2019
Hammer time.
🔨 @gradient__ throws down the HAMMER off the @BsmooveJ lob! @WarriorsGaming lead in 3Q on @Twitch and @YouTube 👀 pic.twitter.com/r5xnjrP9y3
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) May 12, 2019
Fun with Numbers
3 — Tournament final appearances by 76ers GC over the past two seasons.
4 — Wins at THE TURN by Warriors Gaming Squad, matching their regular-season win total from. last season
14 — Unanswered points by Celtics Crossover Gaming to open their game vs Nets GC.
16 — Shots without a miss by Type in Warriors Gaming Squad’s final two games.
Tweet of the Week
It’s only fitting that the birthday boy capped off his huge week with MVP honors at THE TURN.
#THETURN Champion and #THETURN MVP. Hope you're celebrating today well, you deserve it! 🥳🎂🙌 pic.twitter.com/jZ9zo6vFXU
— Warriors Gaming (@WarriorsGaming) May 12, 2019
Quotables
“Her coming here to support me means the world. She hadn’t seen a game yet, so for her to see this whole tournament and me win it on my birthday, with Mother’s Day tomorrow, it feels great.” Warriors Gaming Squad’s Type on having his mom in the stands cheering him on during the tournament.
“We kinda finally figured it out, Bear learned to pass me the ball like he does in practice. He finally let me do what I can do.” — T-Wolves Gaming’s NachoTraynor gave his point guard a hard time after his 22-point performance.
“This is the hardest 16 seed they will ever play in their life.” Celtics Crossover Gaming’s oFAB after taking down top-seeded Pacers Gaming in the first round.