Portland extends win streak to six with two dominant wins
May 3, 2019
Blazer5 Gaming (5-1) knocked off Knicks Gaming (1-3) by a score of 86-48 Thursday night in Week 4 of the NBA 2K League regular-season play.
Mama Im Dat Man kicked this one off with a three and the Blazers got out to a quick 9-0 lead with the help of an and-one and another trey. The Knicks simply couldn’t get anything going in the opening minutes of the first quarter, committing several turnovers and failing to play defense on the other end of the court. They finally managed to get into the scoring column with three minutes left in the period. It was all Blazer5 Gaming at the end of one, as they held a 27-13 lead heading into the second stanza.
It was more of the same in the second half, as Knicks Gaming just didn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with Blazer5 Gaming. Mama Im Dat Man continued to feast from beyond the arc, and the Blazers cleaned up on the boards. This one was over early, as the Blazers powered their way to a 32-point lead in the third quarter and ultimately came away with a huge 86-48 victory. Blazer5 Gaming won the turnover battle 20-8 and outshot the Knicks from downtown by a wide margin (13-for-19 vs. 4-for-22).
Mama Im Dat Man was the clear star of the show and finished with 32 points along with 12 assists, a rebound and a block. KinG PeroXide also turned in an impressive showing, tallying 25 points on six-of-eight shooting from deep while tacking on three steals and a pair of assists.
Then, OneWildWalnut celebrated his 20th birthday with a thorough victory over 76ers GC (2-2) by a score of 63-49 on Friday.
The birthday boy was astounding in this run-away contest, nearly registering a double-double to the tune of a 22-point, 18-rebound decimation of his opposition. It’s quite possible we’ve run out of superlatives to describe the 2018 MVP at this point as the center has been a rock on a Blazer5 Gaming (6-1) team that has won six straight heading into THE TURN.
Perhaps most surprising from this contest was the lack of drama that occurred throughout the game, particularly since 76ers GC, led Player of the Month candidate Radiant (eight points on 3-7 FG), appeared to be firing on all cylinders prior to Friday.
Considering by many to be one of the best teams currently in the NBA 2K League, 76ers GC struggled mightily to stop OneWildWalnut’s paint presence, routinely leaving open baskets down low in lieu of strong perimeter defense around Mama Im Dat Man. While the defense was non-existent, Philadelphia put together a number of head-scratching offensive possessions, gaffing over an astounding 19 turnovers — easily a season high. While the majority of those turnovers didn’t directly translate into fastbreak points as has been the case in past 2K League games, 76ers GC’s inability to routinely find some sort of offensive advantage ultimately allowed Blazer5 Gaming to win every single quarter en route to a relatively easy win.