Kings Guard Finishes THE TIPOFF on a High Note

With the top talent in the gaming world all competing in the inaugural season of the NBA 2K League, there were bound to be some close games and that’s exactly what the first day of THE TIPOFF tournament had in store for Kings Guard.

On Tuesday night in New York City, Sacramento began the group play stage of the five-day tourney, playing three matchups within the span of four hours.

Each game was played with six minute quarters and only a handful of team and TV timeouts to break up the fast-paced gameplay. This group stage would determine which two teams would move on to the playoff portion of THE TIPOFF on Saturday, with the best two records out of three contests advancing.

The first encounter was against Cavs Legion GC, another team that was highly touted coming out of their draft and into the first session of competition.

An uptempo affair featured each team’s offensive capabilities and Kings Guard was able to create some distance with an eight-point lead at the half. However, a second half surge on both ends by Cleveland almost immediately erased the deficit leading to a tightly contested fourth quarter.

Each team was exchanging haymakers in the final minutes, with clutch shot falling one after the other, including a timely throwdown from Kings Guard point guard Timelycook.

A TIMELY DUNK FROM @TIMELYCOOK!!! pic.twitter.com/Cfu86hfbMm

— Kings Guard (@KingsGuardGG) May 1, 2018

 

However a Cavs Legion three-pointer with just 3.2 seconds remaining would seal the defeat for Sactown, as a Cowboyxcollazo heave just before the final buzzer fell short making the final score 76-73.

Though in a real-life basketball game, there may be some time to recover between contests, Kings Guard did not have much time to rest as they had just over an hour to regroup before their second of three matchups on the day.

Next up for the squad was Pistons GT, who notched the very first win in NBA 2K League history earlier that day.

Sacramento center worthingcolt turned in a strong performance against the Pistons, including this monster dunk down low.

.@worthingcolt_ putting 'em on a poster! pic.twitter.com/sjyd9A0ivr

— Kings Guard (@KingsGuardGG) May 2, 2018

This game featured yet another down-to-the wire finish, with each team working relentlessly to gain an insurmountable lead. However, neither team would be able to generate much of an advantage throughout the affair.

Pistons GT would end up in firm control of the game late, leading 62-59 with just 30.7 seconds remaining, but a steal and layup by worthingcolt would trim the lead to one and bring the game within reach for Sacramento.

Attempting to get a steal on the ensuing possession would cost Kings Guard, however, as the team wasn’t able to regain possession before Detroit passed the ball around before Sactown could foul them and extend the game. The clock would expire giving Pistons GT the 62-61 victory in yet another heartbreaker for Sacramento.

There was even less time than before to recoup composure this time around for Kings Guard, as they had another game immediately following a crushing defeat.

In this instance, however, they would not be denied.

Sactown engaged in another grueling battle against Bucks Gaming, with shades of the close contests from earlier in the tournament.

With the game knotted at 64 a piece and 30.8 second to go, Milwaukee threw down a big dunk to take a two-point lead, setting the stage for potentially a third straight deflating loss.

A clutch mid-range jumper from worthingcolt, though, would stave of defeat and send the game into overtime.

C L U T C H @worthingcolt_ sends it to OT! pic.twitter.com/Wf8jxqhJVE

— Kings Guard (@KingsGuardGG) May 2, 2018

The extra period featured more of the same back-and-forth action, but Sacramento was in a position to take home the first W in team history and they pounced all over it.

Kings Guard held the ball with the clock winding down under five seconds in a tie game when Timelycook drove in and kicked the rock out to Cowboyxcollazo who promptly drained a deep three-pointer and just 3.1 seconds to go.

https://twitter.com/KingsGuardGG/status/991507364212690944

A final missed attempt by Bucks Gaming clinched the 78-75 win for Sactown in thrilling fashion and the team was hyped to say the least.

“That was some big stuff!”@KingsGuardGG’s @cowboycollazo2K nailed the game-winning shot for his team to give them their first W! pic.twitter.com/WHG8O4fGcV

— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) May 2, 2018

Kings Guard finished the day with a 1-2 record, which was not enough to advance to the next round of THE TIPOFF. The team will head back to Sacramento this week on a high note, but also looking to regroup ahead of its next competition.

For details and schedule for the next slate of action stay tuned to Kings Guard social media channels for more info.