Mavs and Celtics Highlight Day 4 of NBA 2K League "THE TIPOFF" Event

After four days of group play between the 17 teams of the NBA 2K League, the top eight teams that will be moving onto to Saturday's playoffs for a chance to secure the $35,000 grand prize and championship banner for "THE TIPOFF" tournament have been confirmed. Today saw the final two teams secure their spot in the playoffs with Pacers Gaming and Mavs Gaming both ending the day with 3-1 records. Celtics Crossover Gaming also finished with a 3-1 record in Group D, but were passed for a playoff spot by Mavs Gaming due to point differential. 

You can view all of Group D's results below. 

May 3rd

Mavs Gaming 80, Heat Check Gaming 61

Celtics Crossover Gaming 74, Grizz Gaming 62

May 4th

Celtics Crossover Gaming 70, Pacers Gaming 61

Heat Check Gaming 66, Grizz Gaming 63

Pacers Gaming 57, Mavs Gaming 50

Pacers Gaming 66, Heat Check Gaming 49

Mavs Gaming 81, Celtics Crossover Gaming 74

Pacers Gaming 69, Grizz Gaming 45

Celtics Crossover Gaming 90, Heat Check Gaming 75

Mavs Gaming 92, Grizz Gaming 51

The marquee matchup of Group D was between Mavs Gaming and Celtics Crossover. The game saw NBA 2K League number one overall draft pick Artreyo "Dimez" Boyd of Mavs Gaming and number two overall draft pick Albano "oFAB" Thomallari of Celtics Crossover Gaming face off at the point guard position. It was all Celtics in the first half, as the team hailing from Boston secured a 20 point lead at one point and eventually went into halftime with a 50-35 lead. However, Mavs Gaming fought back in the second half with an incredible defensive effort that would shutdown the high flying offense of the Celtics from the first half. The Mavs eventually pulled away with a 81-74 victory that saw Dimez finish with 20 points, 1 rebound, 16 assists and four steals, while oFAB finished the the best game in the NBA 2K League's young life with 23 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Ahmed "Melo East" Kasana of Celtics Crossover Gaming would be the second leading performer for his team with 20 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Ryan "Dayfri" Conger with his 22 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and one block and Waseem "BallLikeSeem" Talbert with his 20 points and one assist were also instrumental in the historic comeback by Mavs Gaming.

The final day of group play for "THE TIPOFF" tournament was also highlighted by Dimez setting the NBA 2K League scoring record with 50 points. The top pick in the draft would also collect 12 assists and 6 steals in the Mavs Gaming's dominant 92-51 win over Grizz Gaming that secured the team's playoff spot. 

"THE TIPOFF's" playoffs will feature Mavs Gaming, 76ers Gaming Club, Warriors Gaming Squad, Pistons GT, Cavs Legion GC, Jazz Gaming, Blazer5 Gaming and Pacers Gaming. The full schedule for Saturday's quarterfinal matches can be found below.

Cavs Legion GC vs Jazz Gaming - 1 PM EST

Blazer5 Gaming vs Pacers Gaming - 2 PM EST

Warriors Gaming Squad vs Pistons GT - 3 PM EST

Mavs Gaming vs 76ers Gaming Club - 4 PM EST

With the stakes being the highest they ever have been for these eight NBA 2K League teams, fans can expect to see each squad determined to play their best basketball in order to walk away from "THE TIPOFF" tournament as champions. 

Interested in more NBA 2K content? Check out this incredible fan made video showing off what a team up between Black Panther of the Avengers and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers would look like. 

(cover photo courtesy of NBA 2K League)