Jaacko Makes Presence Felt in First Contest of 2019
April 18, 2019
Pistons GT secured their first win of the 2019 NBA 2K League regular season, knocking off the previously undefeated Bucks Gaming by a score of 76-68 on Wednesday.
Arooks, small forward from the Bucks, entered this game as the league’s leading scorer at 36.5 points per contest. He only had two points in the first quarter, hitting a reverse layup at the buzzer to give Bucks Gaming a 22-21 lead after the first stanza. Pistons GT were clearly allocating their defensive resources to stopping Arooks, freeing Bucks point guard Slaysland to notch nine points heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter began with back-to-back fastbreak dunks from Pistons GT point guard MrStylez. The Bucks responded with a 10-2 run capped off by a three pointer from BigMeek. Not to be outdone, the Pistons went on a 12-2 run to end the quarter ending the opening 12 minutes with a 39-34 lead at halftime.
Arooks, who was limited to four points in the first half, started the third quarter with a seven quick points to put the Bucks back in front. However, the Pistons had another answer. Arooks drilled a long three pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter, but iiNsaniTTy put Pistons GT back on top 55-53 with a triple at the buzzer.
Things remained tight in the fourth quarter until Jaacko, making his debut for Pistons GT, accounted for eight points within an 11-0 Pistons run. That ultimately pushed Pistons GT to a 76-68 victory over Bucks Gaming.
Credit Pistons GT with a sound defensive gameplan on Arooks, one of the best scorers of the league. The Pistons played with a ton of energy, led by the rookie, Jaacko, who earned Intel Player of the Game honors with his game-high 21 points. MrStylez posted 18 points and eight assists for the Pistons, while their big man, May, went for 16 points, 18 rebounds and five assists.
Arooks and BigMeek each finished with 19 points in the Bucks first loss of the season.
Pacers Gaming downed Pistons GT by a score of 60-53 Thursday night during Week 2 of the NBA 2K League. There was fair amount of trash talk between the two squads throughout, and the admin even assessed the Pacers a warning in the first quarter of action. Ramo (a former member of Pistons GT) led the charge for Pacers Gaming in terms of energy and trash talk.
Both teams started off hot in the final contest of the night, as the score was tied 7-7 after just two minutes of play. The game was essentially a dunk contest for the majority of the first quarter, with the two squads combining for a perfect 10-for-10 shooting from the field through three minutes. At the end of one, neither team held an advantage (19-19).
The Pacers lockdown defense proved big in the second period, and it helped them get out to a 33-26 lead at the half. Matty knocked down two of three attempts from downtown in the first half and led Pacers Gaming with 12 points, while all nine of Jaackos’ first-half points came from beyond the arc. May also put up a solid half, recording eight points and six boards.
Pistons GT played some solid team basketball to open up the third quarter and managed to cut down the deficit to three points by the end of the period. However, Pacers Gaming kept the pedal to the medal in the final six minutes of action, and managed to come away with the victory. The key to success for the Pacers in this one was their stifling defense and their impressive shooting from the field. They sank 60.1 percent of their field goals and 52.9 percent of their threes in a tightly-contested matchup. Pacers Gaming did allow a season-high 53 points Thursday night, but they won the turnover battle eight to five and generated enough scoring to emerge victorious.
Matty turned in arguably his best performance of the season, totaling 17 points along with seven assists, while Swizurk, Ramo and WoLF 47 also all finished in double figures in the scoring column. For Pistons GT, May secured a double-double by pouring in 20 points and secured 14 rebounds. MrStylez also put together a complete performance and recorded 12 points along with 12 assists. The most disappointing showing of the night came from iiNsaniTTy, who only made the box score because of the two fouls he committed.