NBA 2K Players Tournament: Semifinal and final results, reaction

Here’s everything you need to know, from results to reactions, from the semifinals and final of ESPN’s 16-seed NBA 2K Players Tournament.

Actual NBA basketball can’t be played right now, but ESPN, the NBA and the NBA Player’s Association have teamed up to bring you the next best thing — digital hoops. The 16-seed tournament kicked off last Friday with some of the NBA’s brightest stars facing off.

According to ESPN, “Each player will use a simulated NBA team, from a group selected in advance by the player, in the standard Play Now mode. Once a player has used one of his eight pre-selected teams, he cannot use it again in the tournament.” The first round was split between Friday and Sunday, with play continuing into this week. The winner will receive $100,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, in support of coronavirus relief efforts.

Here are the results, highlights and hottest reactions from the semifinals and finals matchup from Saturday, with instant updates after each game ends.

Semifinal: (5) Devin Booker vs. (8) Montrezl Harrell

GAME 1 FINAL SCORE: Devin Booker (Clippers) 68 — Montrezl Harrell (Rockets) 54

In the first game of this best-of-3 semifinal matchup, Devin Booker struck by using Montrezl Harrell’s own team against him. Building a 10-point halftime lead and a 15-point advantage heading into the third quarter, this first game was all Booker, who seemed to relish in punishing Trez with his own teammates:

In particular, he enjoyed how bringing Landry Shamet into the game paid off early, letting the trash talk just flow:

https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/1249086899710500864?s=20

It even got to the point that Booker was locking up the Rockets with his virtual Harrell, which led to Coach Book — a noted defensive turnstile — offering advice on how Trez can get paid. Simply glorious:

https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/1249090466550816775?s=20

Seriously though, we hope the Phoenix Suns are actually good one day, because Book’s trash talk game is just delightful:

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1249090354764304388?s=20

As was this very good boy, who gave Booker a halftime pep talk:

GAME 2 FINAL SCORE: Devin Booker (Raptors) 65 — Montrezl Harrell (Bucks) 62

In Game 2, with his back against the wall, Harrell went with the mighty Milwaukee Bucks, which prompted Booker to take the Raptors. Trez got off to an 8-3 start, but Book responded with an 18-7 run and continued to talk his trash.

However, Harrell built several leads, and we got to see him talk a little smack in turn, like when Booker tried to have Kyle Lowry take off from the free-throw line.

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1249100071339053056

Trailing by two points with about 30 seconds left, Harrell had Giannis Antetokounmpo drive down the lane, where he was stripped by Fred VanVleet. In such a close contest, Booker was obviously pretty amped about the stop.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1249110286503538697

Semifinal: (10) Deandre Ayton vs. (14) Patrick Beverley

GAME 1 FINAL SCORE: Deandre Ayton (Nets) 75 — Patrick Beverley (Celtics) 69

As expected, Patrick Beverley wasted no time setting the tone in classic Patrick Beverley fashion:

It was also nice of him to remind us that here in 2020, self-encouragement is very important for everyone’s mental health.

Deandre Ayton wasn’t going to just roll over though, taking a 33-31 lead at the break and going up 48-39 halfway through the third quarter. Beverley was uncharacteristically quiet while all this was going on.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1249117511624294403?s=20

Pat Bev held true to his self-talk though (“weather the storm”) and ripped off a 15-3 run to take a 54-51 advantage into the fourth quarter. Suddenly, he had some things to say again:

Leading by three points with less than a minute to go, however, Ayton used Kyrie Irving to knock down the kind of clutch step-back triple he’s known for in real life, giving the Nets enough of a cushion to hold on for the Game 1 win at the free-throw line.

The difference? Ayton knocked down 10 triples to Beverley’s four, and he out-rebounded him 10-1 on the offensive glass.

GAME 2 FINAL SCORE: Deandre Ayton (Suns) 74 — Patrick Beverley (Nuggets) 67

Ayton must have believed he’s the best NBA 2K player in the league if he was trying to win with the Phoenix Suns, and Beverley agreed:

He also promised to take the ball from Ayton every single time if he picked the Suns:

Ayton clearly had a hidden advantage to using the Suns: He must play with them pretty often, considering how comfortable he looked using his own team and introducing them to Beverley:

He also may have discovered some important truths about himself in the process.

https://twitter.com/protectedpick/status/1249129554733608960

At that point, Virtual Jevon Carter (who’s actually a near-40 percent 3-point shooter in real life) knocked down three triples for Ayton’s Suns, which led to this incredible exchange:

A monster dunk in the paint was one thing, but when Ayton — who has made zero 3-pointers in his entire NBA career and only attempted seven — hit a 3 as himself, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

And with that, the Phoenix Suns were going to the finals…of the NBA 2K Players Tournament. But not before quite possibly the most hilarious moment of the entire thing:

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1249140145418383362?s=20

Final: (5) Devin Booker vs. (10) Deandre Ayton

GAME 1 FINAL SCORE: Devin Booker (Rockets) 72 — Deandre Ayton (Lakers) 62

If we never get the 2020 NBA Playoffs, this was the only championship basketball series we’re going to see this year, which means the Suns were automatically champions no matter what. That’s how it works, right?

In any case, with Ayton choosing the Lakers, Booker went with the small-ball Rockets. The first half was bogged down by both seasoned 2K vets making adjustments to their settings, but late in the second quarter, Book looked ready to pull away … until Ayton knocked down a halftime buzzer-beating jumper with JaVale McGee to pull within four points.

Booker’s reaction is all of us anytime McGee makes a jump shot:

The Suns’ star shooting guard built a 10-point lead with a quick 8-2 burst to start the second half, but an ill-advised clear path foul from Book gave Ayton the daylight he needed to prevent the game from getting too far out of reach.

When Devin Booker passed out of a double-team to set up a corner 3 for his Rockets, however, we were provided with the best troll job of the entire tournament. Book: 1, Critics: 0.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1249151360802664448

While Ayton was able to cut the lead down to four multiple times in the fourth quarter, Booker responded with a big triple time and time again to stretch his lead, ultimately holding on for the Game 1 victory.

GAME 2 FINAL SCORE: Devin Booker (Nuggets) 74 — Deandre Ayton (Bucks) 62

Facing a do-or-die Game 2, Ayton opted for the Milwaukee Bucks, while Booker surprisingly went with the Denver Nuggets. He used their depth to his advantage, especially when an 11-3 run from Ayton gave the big man a three-point lead and Book responded with his second unit to take a 41-35 advantage into the break.

Even against his own teammate, Booker didn’t let up.

EVEN TO THE POINT HIS OPPONENT ALMOST QUIT:

https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/1249165107889934336?s=20

(Okay, so it was an accident, but whatever.)

With a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and only 20 minutes left on the broadcast, it was pretty apparent what the end result was going to be, and Booker didn’t disappoint, holding on for the 12-point win and the $100,000 toward coronavirus relief efforts.

So there you have it, folks: In quite possibly the only close-to-meaningful basketball tournament we’ll see on TV this year, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns are champions. The question is, who’s hosting the Zoom parade in the Valley of the Sun tomorrow morning?

All the game action is still available as videos on demand through ESPN and their streaming platforms.

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