The lower-seeded teams won three out of the four single-elimination quarterfinals contests in the NBA 2K League playoffs on Friday night, but considering the quality of the games, it’s hard to be upset about it.
76ers GC was the only team of the top four seeds to advance to Saturday’s semifinals, where they will be joined by Cavs Legion GC, Heat Check Gaming and Knicks Gaming.
The night began with the second-seeded 76ers GC advancing with a 92-73 victory over the seventh-seeded Wizards District Gaming. Radiant led the way for 76ers GC with 32 points and 14 assists.
Next on the court was the three seed, Pistons GT, looking to snag a semifinals spot by dispatching the six seed, Heat Check Gaming. Heat Check was one of the hottest teams in the league heading into the playoffs and Hotshot was certainly on fire Friday night. His 54 points highlighted a near triple-double performance, as he also recorded eight assists and seven rebounds to help Heat Check record the night’s first upset with the 85-67 victory.
With the first best-of-three series set between 76ers GC and Heat Check Gaming, No. 4 seed Raptors Uprising GC and No. 5 seed Cavs Legion faced off with a spot in the other semifinal series on the line. SickX973 grabbed 20 rebounds to go with his 18 points to power Cavs Legion into the semis 77-65.
The biggest upset of the night, and perhaps the season, thrilled fans next as eighth-seeded Knicks Gaming took down top-seeded Blazer5 Gaming 82-78. IamAdamthe1st totaled 30 points and 12 assists to put his team in the semis facing Cavs Legion.
The semifinals get going on Saturday, Aug. 18 with a best-of-three series between 76ers GC and Heat Check Gaming at 11 a.m. ET. Cavs Legion GC and Knicks Gaming will also play a best-of-three beginning at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. The winners of the two series will meet in the NBA 2k League Finals on Saturday, Aug. 25.
If Heat Check and Knicks Gaming advance to the finals, the narrative will be that late-season momentum, not high-seeding, was the real catalyst to success in this first-ever NBA 2k League playoff.
