Warriors, Raptors stay unbeaten in NBA 2K League
LOS ANGELES: Behind a big scoring night from Charlie “CB13” Bostwick and a massive rebounding effort from Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger, unbeaten Warriors Gaming Squad swept winless Lakers Gaming 2-0 on Tuesday to remain tied for first place in the NBA 2K League.
The Warriors improved to 5-0, level with Raptors Uprising GC, who topped Knicks Gaming 2-0 on Tuesday. The league’s other top teams, Mavs Gaming (4-0) and Blazer5 Gaming (2-0), were both idle Tuesday.
Both of the other matches on the opening night of Week 3 also resulted in 2-0 sweeps, with Pacers Gaming defeating 76ers GC, and Wizards District Gaming spoiling Pistons GT’s season debut.Originally scheduled to begin its season March 24, the NBA 2K League postponed play due to the coronavirus pandemic. On April 27, the league announced an initial six-week, onlineonly schedule, with all 23 teams playing eight total matches from their home markets. Action finally began May 5.
Each match is a best-of-three, with the outcome of each three-game series counting as one win or one loss in the standings. The Warriors opened Tuesday with a 69-60 win over the Lakers thanks to 29 points from CB13 plus 16 points and 25 rebounds from Slaughter.
The second game was a 105-47 destruction, with CB13 amassing 53 points and 10 assists while Slaughter piled up 10 points, 23 boards and seven assists. Sten “SAV” Valge-Saar scored 27 points in each game for the Lakers (0-5). Kenneth “Kenny Got Work” Hailey was the catalyst for the Raptors, recording 37 points and five steals in a series-opening, 83-65 victory over the Knicks. Eric “Timelycook” Donald had 26 points for the Raptors while the Knicks’ Christopher “Duck” Charles had 24 points and 10 assists.
The Raptors won the second game 78-72 behind 32 points and nine assists from Kenny Got Work plus 28 points from Maurice “ReeceMode” Flowers. Duck’s 31 points and seven assists weren’t enough for the Knicks.
Jomar “Jomar” Varela-Escapa contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds, five steals and five blocked shots as the Pacers defeated the winless 76ers 64-47 in Game 1. Ethan “Radiant” White scored 20 points for the 76ers.
The Pacers sealed the series with a 61-54 win as Nicolas “Swizurk” Grech scored a team-high 16 points while Jomar had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Rashann “Scretty” Petty had 19 points for the 76ers, who got 16 points and 19 boards from Alexander “Steez” Bernstein.
Rookie John “JBM” Mascone scored 25 points in the Wizards’ opening 60-50 win over the Pistons. Ryan “Dayfri” Conger added 14 points and 17 points for the winners while Ramo “Ramo” Radoncic notched 14 points, 13 boards and six assists for the losers.
The Wizards doubled up the Pistons 82-41 in the second game as JBM had 27 points, Justin “Just_Awkward” Howell scored 23 points and Dayfri put up 13 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists. Devin “DevGoss” Gossett led the Pistons with 13 points. —Reuters