NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: A general view of the NBA 2K League Draft at Madison Square Garden on April 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The Turn, one of the NBA 2k League’s in-season tournaments, began on Thursday, May 9 with seven contests that dwindled the tournament field to 14 teams.
The day and the tournament began with 12th-seeded Magic Gaming hosting the tournament’s final seed, Wizards District Gaming. Magic Gaming showed it deserved the higher seeding, holding Wizards District Gaming to single digits in both of the first two quarters to secure a 79-55 win. Magic Gaming point guard Reizey registered a double-double with 23 points and 12 assists.
In the next contest, 13th-seeded Raptors Uprising GC took on the 20th seed, Pistons GT. Again the higher seed prevailed, fueled by getting three players into double figures. Raptors Uprising GC point guard Doza led his team in scoring en route to the 56-47 victory.
Doza poured in 18 PTS and added 3 AST in @RaptorsGC‘s win to advance to the next round.
Take a look back at his top highlights from the game. 👇
The next game featured the 14th-seeded T-Wolves Gaming and the 19th seed, Grizz Gaming. Again, the higher-seed’s point guard led the way to a win, as BearDaBeast tallied 14 points and 18 assists to propel his team to the 68-63 win.
14 PTS, 18 AST, 3 STL 🔥
@BearDaBeast23 did it ALL in @TWolvesGaming‘s win over Grizz Gaming.
The play-in games continued with NetsGC and Celtics Crossover Gaming, who were the 15th and 18th seeds respectively. Celtics Crossover Gaming scored more than 20 points in both the first and fourth quarters in a runaway 73-39 victory. Point guard oFAB (30 points, 15 assists) and center NO xAUTOGRAPHSx (10 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles for Celtics Crossover Gaming.
👌 @_oFAB sinks the triple as @CLTXGaming opens the game on a 14-0 run!
The final play-in game of the tournament pit Knicks Gaming against Lakers Gaming in the 16-17 contest. Knicks Gaming outscored Lakers Gaming by 17 in the first half then was able to hold on for the final 12 minutes and move on with a 61-50 win. Double-doubles by point guard iamadamethe1st (20 points, 10 assists) and center G O O F Y 7 5 7 (21 points, 12 rebounds) led the way for Knicks Gaming.
First-round games began with the 7-10 game, featuring the lower-seeded Heat Check Gaming visiting Warriors Gaming Squad. Warriors Gaming Squad was able to get four of its five players into double figures and sink timely buckets in the fourth quarter to slightly edge Heat Check Gaming 56-54 and move on to play at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
11 PTS & 14 REB from @type helped power @WarriorsGaming to the W over HEAT Check Gaming.
Look back at his top highlights from the matchup!
The final game on Thursday was between eighth-seeded Hawks Talon GC and ninth-seeded 76ers GC. 76ers GC would be one of three lower-seeded teams to win Thursday night, getting 31 points from its point guard Radiant on its way to a 68-56 win. 76ers GC will play at 10 a.m. on Saturday for a spot in the semifinals.
Friday’s Schedule
Six games on Friday, May 10 will decide which teams advance to the tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. All times are Eastern and all games can be streamed live for free on the NBA 2k League Twitch and YouTube channels.
2 p.m. 16) Celtics Crossover at 1) Pacers Gaming
3 p.m. 15) Knicks Gaming at 2) Mavs Gaming
4 p.m. 14) T-Wolves Gaming at 3) Blazer5 Gaming
5 p.m. 13) Raptors Uprising GC at 4) Bucks Gaming
6 p.m. 12) Magic Gaming at 5) Kings Guard Gaming
7 p.m. 11) Cavs Legion GC at 6) Jazz Gaming
Friday’s action will bring six teams closer to a piece of the Banner Chain trophy and a $180,000 purse. If the games on Friday are as good as they were on Thursday, the big winners will be the fans, however.