PACERS GAMING ELIMINATED IN THE TURN 5V5 TOURNAMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 13, 2024) – Pacers Gaming suffered a 2-1 series loss to Pistons GT in the semi-final round of the NBA 2K League’s THE TURN Tournament powered by AT&T and were eliminated from the event late Thursday night in Washington, D.C.  The Pacers, who won the first game of the best-of-three playoff series, had entered the in-person play as one of the hottest teams in the league, having won three in a row and five of its last six.  Indiana will now prep for the 5v5 league playoffs which begin June 26-27.

The Pacers took Game 1, 88-84 while leading after every quarter.  Indiana led by three after one and by 10 at halftime as COOKS scored 17 and CEEZ added 16 points.  Detroit pulled within four after three periods, but Indiana maintained a slight margin throughout the fourth quarter and made eight-of-eight free throws in the last :40 of playing time to seal the victory. CEEZ matched his season high with 33 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field and dished six assists while COOKS added a sweet double/double with 27 points and 11 assists.  SCOREO scored 20 for Indiana, grabbed six rebounds and had seven assists.  SUBGOATED and JAYSNAGS each scored four for the Pacers.  ANT led Detroit with 42 points and 10 assists while BSMOOVE tallied 16 points.

In Game 2, the Pacers dominated the first half, and the Pistons controlled the second half setting up an overtime period with Detroit winning 90-86 in OT.  Indiana stormed out to a nine-point first quarter advantage and just like Game 1, led by 10 at the half behind CEEZ’s 14 tallies.  Detroit outscored the Pacers 22-15 in the third quarter to pull within three after three, 59-56.  Indiana was down 74-72 with 27.3 left to play after a Piston three-pointer.  The Pacers tied the game at 74-74 with 21.6 left and got a tremendous game-saving blocked shot from JAYSNAGS on a Piston layup with 1.8 remaining to force overtime.  The Pistons, who outscored the Pacers 16-12 in the extra period, used free throws down the stretch to claim the win. COOKS led the Pacers with 29 points, followed by CEEZ with 20 points and seven assists; SCOREO with 19 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists and SUBGOATED with 11 points.  JAYSNAGS added seven tallies, four rebounds, five assists and a team-high three steals.    ANT led Detroit with 31 points and 12 assists while BSMOOVE added 17 points and 11 assists.

In the Game 3 clincher Detroit saw all five starters reach double figures in the 89-76 victory.  CONNOR led the Pistons attack with 23 points followed by MONA with 23 points and 11 rebounds.  CEEZ paced Indiana with 22 points followed by SUBGOATED with 18 and SCOREO with 17 points and 10 rebounds.  The Pacers committed nine turnovers to Detroit’s three.  COOKS dished a team-high eight assists and scored 11 while JAYSNAGS contributed eight points.  The Pacers fell into a 23-15 hole after the first quarter and trailed by 10 at the half, 48-38.  Detroit pulled away with a 23-16 advantage in the third quarter.  Indiana did not quit, outscoring the Pistons 22-18 in the final stanza.