Grizz Gaming drops both pool play games, eliminated from THE TIPOFF
April 4, 2019
Long Island City, N.Y. — Grizz Gaming suffered defeat at the hands of both of its opponents in Group 2 Wednesday, T-Wolves Gaming and Wizards District Gaming, to be eliminated from THE TIPOFF – the NBA 2K League’s season opening tournament held inside the NBA 2K League Studio powered by Intel.
T-Wolves Gaming took the first game with a huge offensive display, shooting 9-of-13 from three-point range and earning the 53-39 victory. Grizz struggled from the field early in the game, shooting 3-of-11 overall and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc in the opening frame, but played well enough defensively to keep the game within range at 12-6. T-Wolves extended the lead to 21-6 before Jayrod found his groove from long range, knocking down a pair of threes at the end of the half to keep Grizz Gaming within 28-16. T-Wolves extended the lead to 39-22 at the end of the third, but Grizz started the fourth on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to nine before T-Wolves kept a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
AuthenticAfrican led the Grizz effort with 15 points and eight rebounds. Vandi was productive with seven points, nine assists and three steals. Jayrod added 11 points. Hood led T-Wolves with 15 points. BearDaBeast (3-4 3P) added 13 points and five assists. Dr JoJo 30 (11 points) knocked down 5-of-6 field goal attempts.
The second game was much closer, with Wizards District Gaming winning 62-60 at the buzzer. Wizards District led 29-24 at halftime, however, Grizz Gaming pulled in front with a 17-8 advantage in the third quarter after a 9-0 run to start the half. Grizz held a late five-point lead before a couple of missed free throws opened the window for the Wizards. Trailing 60-58, Demon JT tied the game up with a jumper with 3.8 seconds remaining. Wizards District then stole the ball on the ensuing Grizz possession and managed to call timeout to advance the ball while taking just 0.4 seconds on the clock. USERPICK hit the layup as time expired.
Jayrod led Grizz with 19 points, shooting 5-of-10 from three-point range. UniversalPhenom posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. AuthenticAfrican had 16 points and seven boards while Vandi recorded 10 points and eight assists. Dayfri finished one rebound shy of a double-double for Wizards District, scoring 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds. ReeseDaGod posted a double-double of his own with 17 points and 10 assists.