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 second night of Week 9 in the NBA 2k League’s 2019 regular season began with a tight contest between two teams fighting for playoff positioning then was shortened with a rescheduled game and two blowouts.
The contest between Blazer5 Gaming and Pistons GT has been postponed until Friday, June 21 because of inclement weather that prevented Pistons GT from flying to New York City in time for the game. That didn’t matter to the six teams that were in action on Thursday, however.
Pacers Gaming 57, Wizards District Gaming 55
Pacers Gaming (8-4) came into this contest looking to start a winning streak, having won its past two games and simultaneously put an end to the same for Wizards District Gaming (5-7). Wizards District Gaming had won its last three consecutive games in regular-season play, riding the strength of its powerful frontcourt trio.
Dayfri, Gilly and ReeseDaGod didn’t disappoint for Wizards District Gaming. The center and two forwards combined for 47 points. It wasn’t enough, however, to overcome a more balanced attack from Pacers Gaming.
Four of Pacers Gaming’s five players got into double figures, enabling a 10-point lead at halftime. Pacers Gaming would get enough offense in the second half to hold on, including what ended up being a game-winning basket from center Ramo with less than two seconds remaining in the game.
15 PTS and the game-winner 🔥
@LetsGet_It_Ramo balled out!
Kings Guard Gaming 74, Lakers Gaming 47
Thursday’s second game proved to be as much of a blowout as its first game was a close one. Kings Guard Gaming (9-4) was up by 12 points after the first quarter and 18 at halftime.
These lopsided losses have been a regular sight for Lakers Gaming (2-10), whose first season in the league will be one to learn from. Center Mootyy was a bright spot for Lakers Gaming. He recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The highlight for Kings Guard Gaming was power forward Yusuf_Scarbz, whose 23 points led all scorers. He went 7/10 from 3-point range in the game.
With the wins, Kings Guard Gaming and Pacers Gaming vaunted themselves into the third and fourth positions in the current standings heading into the final day of Week 9. If the next game went right, there would still be hope for both teams to ascend further.
Celtics Crossover Gaming 81, Mavs Gaming 58
There would be no 20-point deficit overcome by Mavs Gaming (11-2)on Thursday night, as Celtics Crossover Gaming (6-5) put on a show for a second consecutive lopsided victory.
For the second consecutive game, Celtics Crossover Gaming got the bulk of its scoring from point guard oFAB and small forward ProFusion. ProFusion dropped 30 again, as his shot from 3-point range has been deadly lately.
Mavs Gaming has gotten the turnover bug lately, tallying 19 in this one. Although they started out the season a record 10-0, one criticism has been that Mavs Gaming shrinks against higher-quality competition.
Mavs Gaming is still virtually a lock for the playoffs but such a showing has to be concerning. For Celtics Crossover Gaming, the question is whether it can sustain this level of play through its remaining five regular-season contests. They probably need to go 4-1 if not win all five games in order to qualify for the playoffs.
.@ProfusionTV played like they turned the sliders up 🔥
Schedule for Friday, June 21
Week 9 of the regular season concludes on Friday, featuring Blazer5 Gaming bookends. Two wins by the league’s top team on Friday would move them to 13-1 on the season and not only put them in the playoffs but on the verge of locking up the one seed as well.
All times listed are Eastern and all games can be streamed live for free on the NBA 2k League Twitch and YouTube channels.
Jazz Gaming at Blazer5 Gaming, 6 p.m.
Bucks Gaming at Lakers Gaming, 7 p.m.
NetsGC at Heat Check Gaming, 8 p.m.
Jazz Gaming at Pistons GT, 9 p.m.
Bucks Gaming at NetsGC, 10 p.m.
Pistons GT at Blazer5 Gaming, 11 p.m.