PACERS GAMING WIN IN CEEZ DEBUT

INDIANAPOLIS (May 29, 2024) – Point guard CEEZ (Caesar Martinez), acquired via trade less than 24 hours before the game, erupted for 33 points in his Pacers Gaming debut Wednesday night to lead Indiana to a start-to-finish 67-52 conquest of Blazer 5 Gaming in the NBA 2K League’s THE TURN Tournament powered by AT&T. The Pacers (1-0, 3-4 overall) will play Thursday night at 8 PM against T-Wolves Gaming.

CEEZ, acquired from NBL Oz of Australia Tuesday night for veteran CHESS (Kory Taylor), ended the contest with six assists in addition to his 33 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field. SUBGOATED (Josh Ferreira), acquired via trade two months ago, added 12 points on five-of-six shooting. JAYSNAGS (Julio Laboy) scored nine points and had five rebounds; SCOREO (Devin Lawrence) contributed seven points and pulled down 15 rebounds while dishing eight assists and COOKS (Mike Campbell) scored six, had four steals and four assists. MAY led Portland with 20 points followed by CLAUDE with 16 points and 14 assists.

Coach Joel Lazu’s Pacers jumped out to a 15-12 first quarter lead as CEEZ scored nine to pace Indiana. The Pacers continued the pressure in the second quarter, outscoring the Blazers 17-14 to take a 32-26 halftime edge. The two teams battled to a 10-10 standoff in the third quarter and the visiting Pacers took a 42-36 lead into the final period. The Pacers put the game out of reach with a 14-2 run early in the fourth quarter, turning a 44-39 lead into a 58-41 advantage. CEEZ had 14 points for Pacers Gaming in the fourth quarter.