Jazz, Grizz, Kings, Pistons advance in The Tipoff

Jazz Gaming, Grizz Gaming and Kings Guard Gaming advanced out of the group stage by going 3-1 in the NBA 2K League's The Tipoff tournament on Tuesday.

Jazz Gaming, Grizz Gaming and Kings Guard Gaming advanced out of the group stage by going 3-1 in the NBA 2K League's The Tipoff tournament on Tuesday. Pistons GT also grabbed a quarterfinal berth by winning a point-differential tiebreaker after all three teams in their group finished 2-2.

The $160,000 event features all 23 of the league's teams divided into seven groups for pool play on Tuesday (Groups 1 through 4) and Wednesday (Groups 5 through 7). Groups 1 through 5 each have three teams, with each team playing the other teams in the group twice. Groups 6 and 7 each have four teams, and each team will play two other teams in the group twice.

The seven group winners as well as the group runner-up with the best record advance to the single-elimination playoffs, which begin Thursday. All playoff matches will be best-of-three, including the final on Friday. In Group 2, the Jazz swept Celtics Crossover Gaming, 92-81 and 75-56. The Celtics won their opener against Mavs Gaming 87-65 before the Mavs took the second game 62-54. In the group's final matchup, the Mavs downed the Jazz 65-60 before the Jazz pulled out a 73-69 win to advance.

Kimanni "Splashy" Ingram led the Jazz with 34 points and six assists in the finale while teammate Spencer "Ria" Wyman finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Grizz Gaming started their night in Group 3 with a 73-67 loss to Warriors Gaming Squad before beating the Warriors 70-68. Earlier, the Warriors had split with Pacers Gaming, dropping the first game 61-57 before capturing the second game 96-69.

That left the group to be decided when the Grizz and Pacers squared off, and the Grizz produced a sweep with 73-69 and 88-64 victories. In the final game, the Grizz got a triple-double from Dayvon "GOOFY757" Curry (19 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists) plus 32 points from Zach "Vandi" Vandivier. In Group 4, Hawks Talon GC split with Magic Gaming, losing the first game 58-52 before winning the second 71-52. The Magic then topped the Kings 61-55, but the Kings rebounded to produce a 78-41 victory.

The Kings beat the Hawks 73-53 and 66-63 in the group's final series to wrap up a quarterfinal berth. Matthew "Bash" Robles paced the Kings with 23 points and seven assists in the last game, and teammate Connor "Dat Boy Shotz" Rodrigues logged 14 points and 16 rebounds. 76ers GC, the two-time defending Tipoff champions, opened Group 1 with a 62-60 win over Pistons GT, but the Pistons took the second game 65-58. The Nets defeated the Pistons 76-58, but the Pistons leveled their record with an 103-50 triumph.

The 76ers edged the Nets 52-50 in the first game of the group's last series, but the Nets made sure every team in the group finished at 2-2 by claiming the finale 86-57. In the Pistons' key blowout of the Nets, Johnathon "Demon JT" Fields poured in 52 points.

The tiebreakers for group placement are, in order: 1. Winning percentage within group of pool-play rounds

2. Head-to-head record within group 3. Average points differential within group

4. Average points scored within group 5. Technical fouls accumulated throughout the NBA 2K League regular season

6. Random draw The Tipoff tournament was scheduled for March 24-28 before the coronavirus put the beginning of the season on hold.

The NBA 2K League finally began action May 3, and six weeks of remote play were completed before action was paused for The Tipoff. The tournament champion will receive $70,000. The runner-up will get $50,000, with the two losing semifinalists each receiving $20,000. The Tipoff is airing live on ESPN2 nightly, starting at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, then at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. All matches are available on ESPN's digital platforms as well as the NBA 2K League's YouTube and Twitch channels.

Following The Tipoff, NBA 2K League regular-season play will resume next week with remote action continuing at least through the end of Week 11 (July 14-17). NBA 2K League Tipoff groups

Group 1 T1. Pistons GT, 2-2 (won tiebreaker)

T1. NetsGC, 2-2 T1. 76ers GC, 2-2

Group 2 1. Jazz Gaming, 3-1

2. Mavs Gaming, 2-2 3. Celtics Crossover Gaming, 1-3

Group 3 1. Grizz Gaming, 3-1

2. Warriors Gaming Squad, 2-2 3. Pacers Gaming, 1-3

Group 4 1. Kings Guard Gaming, 3-1

2. Magic Gaming, 2-2 3. Hawks Talon GC, 1-3

Group 5 T1. Bucks Gaming, 0-0

T1. Heat Check Gaming, 0-0 T1. Knicks Gaming, 0-0

Group 6 T1. Blazer5 Gaming, 0-0

T1. Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, 0-0 T1. Lakers Gaming, 0-0

T1. Raptors Uprising GC, 0-0 Group 7

T1. Cavs Legion GC, 0-0 T1. Hornets Venom GT, 0-0

T1. T-Wolves Gaming, 0-0 T1. Wizards District Gaming, 0-0

--Field Level Media