By: Lucky Ngamwajasat
After their historic tournament win last week, Knicks Gaming returned to league play Friday to take on Pistons GT.
Unfortunately for Knicks Gaming, the team struggled to get it together in the early going and, despite a furious late rally, suffered a 75-66 defeat.
The home team took to the arena filled with confidence after last week’s exploits.
The Ticket champs @KnicksGaming are ready and their fans are in the house once again! 🎟🏆🗽 pic.twitter.com/U5Ik86mUDd
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) July 20, 2018
The starting five continued to be the usual suspects for Knicks Gaming.
Your starting 5⃣ and archetype selections for @KnicksGaming x @PistonsGT
💻 : https://t.co/GGGTun0cUh pic.twitter.com/jXflQq9u76
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) July 20, 2018
Unfortunately for Knicks Gaming, Pistons GT jumped out to a huge 1st-quarter lead.
🎯🎯🎯 @RuxGT nails the 3 at the buzzer to give @PistonsGT a 21-12 lead over @KnicksGaming at the end of the 1st Q
💻 : https://t.co/GGGTun0cUh pic.twitter.com/6nSmi2lC17
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) July 20, 2018
Knicks Gaming rebounded from their sluggish beginning and pulled to within 3 at the halftime interval.
Strong performances from @ImSoFarAhead_ (10 PTS/3 AST) & @LetsGet_It_Ramo (9 PTS/9 REB) helped guide @PistonsGT to a 36-33 lead over @KnicksGaming at halftime
Catch up on all the best moments from an exciting first half of play with the recap powered by @Alienware pic.twitter.com/JTCNi81jxj
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) July 20, 2018
Back and forth the teams went, with G O O F Y 7 5 7 pulling Knicks Gaming to within two in the fourth quarter.
🗽 @Goofy757__ throws down the jam after the slick dime from @iamadamthe1st @KnicksGaming have rallied back to cut the @PistonsGT lead to only 2 points in the 4th quarter
Catch the finish LIVE: https://t.co/jyRINAVZW8 pic.twitter.com/mcEHe7su7W
— NBA2KLeague (@NBA2KLeague) July 21, 2018
But Pistons GT pulled away late and finished off the victory.
Game!@PistonsGT beat @KnicksGaming 75 – 66
-Pistons@LetsGet_It_Ramo – 19 points and 16 rebounds@iiNsaniTTy – 19 points and 5 rebounds
-Knicks@Goofy757__ – 18 points and 17 rebounds (11 OR)@iamadamthe1st – 28 points and 7 assists@ImThat6MB – 20 points and 4 rebounds pic.twitter.com/C05gvmTz0i
— 2k Analytics (@2k_Analytics) July 21, 2018
STAT OF THE GAME: G O O F Y 7 5 7 had a beast of a game, recording 18 points and 17 rebounds. His 11 offensive rebounds set a new NBA 2K League record.
@Goofy757__ breaks the record for most offensive rebounds in a game (11)
— 2k Analytics (@2k_Analytics) July 21, 2018
STAT OF THE GAME, PART II: iamadamthe1st, IdrisDaGoat6 and G O O F Y 7 5 7 took on the majority of the scoring, but both NateKahl and YeyNotGaming were held scoreless.
UP NEXT: Knicks Gaming will look to shake off Friday’s defeat next Saturday when they take on Bucks Gaming at 7 PM. You can watch live action of the NBA 2K League on Twitch.
TUNE IN: Don’t miss the next episode of KNX Gaming: Inside the NBA 2K League Tuesday at 10 PM on MSG and MSG GO.