Bucks Gaming, the NBA 2K League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, cleanly swept Grizz Gaming Thursday night to take another step toward clinching a potential playoff berth.
Entering Thursday night with three games remaining in their 2020 season, Bucks Gaming knew a challenging road was lying ahead in their quest to achieve their first-ever playoff berth.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ 2K League affiliate had taken quite a dispiriting stumble with their loss to Hornets Venom GT last week, which was beset by technical difficulties that had indirectly led to their early exit in ‘The Turn’ tournament. It was not the outcome Bucks Gaming wanted by any means, especially with a huge matchup with playoff implications on the horizon.
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After all, their opponent Thursday night, Grizz Gaming, was entering the night with a 7-7 record just outside of the top 10 in 12th place.
With so much on the line for both squads, Thursday’s matchup didn’t disappoint by any means, at least for Bucks Gaming.
It was Bucks Gaming who came out firing on all cylinders as their defense served as their best offense as they forced turnovers to help them jumpstart a number of fast break opportunities. That, in turn, led to Grizz Gaming having to play catch up, which they would for most of Game 1.
Milwaukee’s vast control of the game went untested until late in the first half when, after leading by as much as 13, Grizz Gaming went on a late run to bring the Bucks’ lead down to 35-32 upon entering halftime.
That only set up the tense second half that unfolded as the Bucks attempted to hang on to their slight lead for much of the final 12 minutes. That was the case until Memphis was finally able to break through early on in the fourth quarter, just as the Bucks’ offense started to get run down by rough turnovers and broken plays.
But the Bucks quickly regrouped and reclaimed the lead, thanks to their star guard Regg breaking out of his cold spell from 3-point range and making timely reads to shooters such as Ty and Squidris to give them enough cushion and eventually come away with a 71-68 Game 1 victory. It was Regg’s 28-point, nine assist effort that ended up leading the way for the Bucks in the opening tilt, while Arooks chipped in 18 of his own and went 4-for-7 from downtown.
For as pressure-filled as Game 1 was, the Bucks quickly learned their lessons from their near-collapse just minutes prior.
Once again, the Bucks’ stout defense, especially at the basket and on the boards, was key to their dominance and getting the Bucks to play their game all throughout the second clash. And while Regg played his leading role in controlling the strings all the way to 31 points and nine assists, it truly was a total team effort as far as the Bucks’ second and decisive victory went.
Case in point, all five Bucks players scored into double figures and the collective sharpshooting played a critical factor in both games as the Bucks hit 24 total triples throughout their series sweep.
The frontcourt duo of Squidris and Plondo were absolutely sensational in shutting down the paint on the defensive side of the ball as the two players both accrued double-doubles and combined for 28 rebounds and six blocks for Game 2.
Plondo, in particular, stuffed the stat sheet with his 16 points, 17 boards, six assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. When the Grizzlies looked to sell out to defend the shooting of both Regg and ARooks, Plondo’s 2-way athletic finisher build was useful in attacking the runways to throw it down and power his wide-ranging performance.
With the series sweep, Bucks Gaming climbed to 8-6 and now stand as the seventh seed in the league, as of this writing.
Bucks Gaming will look to lock down their playoff berth next week when they not only take on Lakers Gaming, but also Mavs Gaming next Thursday and Friday, respectively.