THE NBA2KL 3V3 CHAMPIONSHIPS

INDIANAPOLIS – No. 1-seed Pacers Gaming saw its season come to a stunning end Friday night, losing in the NBA 2K League 3v3 Championship Tournament to amateur Cinderella competitors, Rim Rummers, 3-0 (18-23, 20-22, 19-22) before a large and loud crowd at The Pavilion at Pan Am in downtown Indianapolis. Rim Rummers upset another pro team – Jazz Gaming – Thursday night to move on to face the Pacers. Indiana entered Friday’s game having won 11 of its last 15 and with a league-best 17-6 overall record. The Rim Rummers will try to keep its impossible dream alive and play for the Western Conference title on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers finish 2022 with a 17-7 overall mark and THE SWITCH OPEN Tournament championship, which they won on July 2.

In Game 1 the teams battled back and forth until VANDI (Zach Vandivier) hit a three pointer to give the Pacers a 18-17 advantage. First team to 21 wins; must win by two. Rim Rummers countered with a three pointer and then after an Indiana miss, SELDUM of the Runners nailed a three for the win. SELDUM ended the game with 15 points. WoLF (Bryant Colon) led the Pacers with 10 points on five-of-five shooting and three rebounds. VANDI had six and JOMAR (Jomar Varela-Escapa) had two points. The Pacers were two-of-five from three in Game 1; Runners were seven-of-nine.

In Game 2 Pacers Gaming jumped out to an early lead and led most of the way, including 20-14 late. But the Runners improbably finished the game on an 8-0 run to capture the contest and momentum. The Pacers team did not miss a shot in the game (nine-of-nine) but made only two three’s while the Rim Runners were nine of 15 from the field, including four of 10 from the arc. SELDUM had 17 for the winners. WoLF led Indiana with eight points, JOMAR added seven and VANDI contributed five points and five assists.

With their backs to the wall the Pacers struggled for traction in Game 3 and pulled within one a few times late, but the Rim Runners captured the series and moved on to the conference finals with a 22-19 victory. LOWKEY GODLIKE led the Runners with 10 points while SELDUM added eight. WoLF led the Pacers with nine tallies; VANDI added eight points and four assists and JOMAR had two points.

Game 1

 

Game 2

 

Game 3