Grizz Gaming evens record with victory over Blazer5 Gaming
July 10, 2020
Grizz Gaming, the NBA 2K League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, defeated Blazer5 Gaming (72-43, 62-69, 85-69) in a best-of-three series Thursday night. With the win, Grizz Gaming improved to 6-6 in regular season play.
After the teams played to an 18-18 score through the opening frame, the Grizz went on a 16-4 run over the first 3:23 of the second to push the lead to double digits. Memphis’ team eventually pushed the lead to 16 (45-29) at halftime. The Grizz pushed the lead to 20 early in the third, but Blazer5 responded and cut the lead back to 14. Grizz Gaming then closed the quarter on a 17-2 run to blow the game open. The game was called early in the fourth quarter due to connection issues. Vandi (Zach Vandivier) and AuthenticAfrican (Mehyar Ahmed-Hassan) finished with 53 of Grizz Gaming’s 72 points. Vandi finished with 33 points, 10 assists and six steals while AuthenticAfrican poured in 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
Blazer5 jumped out to an 11-4 lead early in Game 2, but the Grizz finished the period strong and trailed by just one point (16-15). Grizz Gaming then exploded for 27 second quarter points on its way to a 43-30 lead at the break. Blazer5 battled back in the third, cutting the lead to as little as four (48-44) in the middle portion of the third. Blazer5 tied the game at 57-57 with 2:48 remaining in the game on a Mama Im Dat Man (Neadal Nasser) layup. After a DDouble (Daniel Davis) free throw and G O O F Y 7 5 7 (Dayvon Curry) layup pushed the lead back to three the teams traded baskets before Blazer5 took its first lead and closed the game on a 8-0 run. Vandi nearly had another double-double (33 points, nine assists) for Grizz Gaming. Mama Im Dat Man led Blazer5 with 34 points and 12 assists.
After trailing 14-10 through the first quarter of Game 3, the Grizz had another explosive second quarter. The team finished with 29 points in the period and took a 39-30 lead into halftime. Another prolific quarter gave the Grizz a 66-50 lead heading into the final frame where the Grizz held serve and took home the victory. Vandi had 38 points (14-17 FG, 6-8 3P) and 11 assists to lead Grizz Gaming while AuthenticAfrican followed suit with 21 points.
Grizz Gaming returns to action next Wednesday, July 15, at 6 p.m. against Nets GC. Fans can tune in on the ESPN app as well as the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. To view Grizz Gaming exclusively, access the “Command Center” on the league’s Twitch channel.