Upsets, a season debut and plenty of close series gave fans plenty of exciting action in the week four curtain call on Friday night. Mavs Gaming got its season back on track, Pacers Gaming got a crucial win over rival Pistons GT, Jazz Gaming pulled off the upset over Blazer5 Gaming and Knicks Gaming won a close won over Cavs Legion GC.
Mavs Gaming def. NetsGC 2-0
NetsGC had momentum late in the first game but connection issues struck the NBA 2K League yet again, causing Shuttles to lag out. Game two was tightly contested down to the wire, but Choc and Co. fell short in their season debut. Choc joined the 2020 rookie point guard class in having instant scoring success, averaging almost 36 points over two games. Recent acquisition Chess struggled shooting the ball, making just two shots on 13 attempts over the course of the series. As he spends more time with the league build he’ll need to grow more comfortable and improve with each game. The Nets will continue their season with a packed schedule next week, as they’re slated to play all four nights.
The Mavs rebounded after a couple of lackluster performances against T-Wolves Gaming. Sherm shined in game one with 30 points and 9 assists. In game two, it was PeteBeBallin who stole the spotlight, ending with 20 points and 16 boards. The Mavs did have to sweat a couple of Nets comebacks during the series, but ultimately prevailed with a series sweep. Dallas split its games this week, leaving its record at 5-2 on the season entering a bye week.
Pacers Gaming def. Pistons GT 2-0
The Pacers out-Pacered the Pistons and won the Ramo bowl. The two squads trotted out exactly the same lineup—archetype wise—and the Pacers proved triumphant. Game one wasn’t particularly close, as the team only turned over the ball four total times. Add in 29 points from Swizurk against Ramo’s 10 and it was all Pacers in the first contest. No. 4 overall pick Bohio caught fire game two, pouring in 31 points on 67% shooting while limiting his turnovers to just two. Indy suddenly has momentum in season three with its double-lock lineup and will look to hold on to it through its week five bye.
The Pistons offense proved to be stagnant often, which resulted in falling behind early and never quite catching up. Even in its wins against Lakers Gaming, Detroit needed late-game heroics to spoil LA leads. Slow starts and scoring droughts have been the Pistons’ downfall early in the 2020 season. After debuting the three-level playmaker successfully, Ramo struggled to get his looks to drop this series, shooting 38% from the field on 24 attempts during the two games. Pistons GT looks to shrug off the loss against Cavs Legion next Tuesday.
Jazz Gaming def. Blazer5 Gaming 2-0
Jazz Gaming put its slow starts behind them and upset Blazer5 Gaming on ESPN2 last night. After giving up a heartbreaking buzzer-beater to Kings Guard Gaming, the Jazz were again tied with less than 30 seconds left in a closeout game. This time, Jazz center Ria secured two key offensive rebounds that led to the game-winner.
While Ria dominated in the final quarter, most of Utah’s offensive production came from its backcourt. After the previous night, the duo of Splashy and Lotty bounced back from their poor shooting performance and helped the Jazz keep up with Portland’s torrid pace. Splashy, drafted No. 10 in 2020, averaged 27 points and 7.5 assists on the night.
Meanwhile, Portland’s MamaImDatMan looked uncomfortable throughout most of the evening. In game one, Utah encouraged Mama’s teammates to take on a larger role offensively. And even when the reigning MVP found his shooting stroke in game two, Utah forced Mama into multiple turnovers, killing any momentum.
The Jazz have an opportunity to build on this success next week, with games against Lakers Gaming and Wizards DG. For Blazer5, they’ll match up next against Kings Guard.
Knicks Gaming def. Cavs Legion GC 2-1
For the second time this week, it took New York a game to find their groove. But this time, Knicks Gaming was able to secure a series-clinching win, defeating Cavs Legion GC.
Earlier in the night, Strainer went from a possible option at point guard for Cavs Legion to entering the discussion as one of the top scorers in the entire league. In game one, he had 14 points at the end of the first quarter, before finishing the game with 41 points and 8 assists.
New York countered in the next two games and forced Strainer to give the ball up. On the offensive end, OriginalMalik erupted for 27 points on 100% shooting from outside. In the decisive third game, Duck would regain his offensive form and finished with 24 points and 6 assists.
Both teams continue their up and down season next week, with Knicks Gaming taking on Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai and Cavs Legion matching up against Pistons GT.