Game 2 of the Liberty Ballers vs. CelticsBlog Sixers-Celtics 2K Playoff Series

For video game week at SB Nation, I’m representing Liberty Ballers in an NBA 2K20 playoff series against Adam Taylor of CelticsBlog. I managed to get the Sixers off to a good start in Game 1, winning 78-47.

I won Game 2, 71-36, and maintained a similar approach — push the pace with Ben Simmons again (he had 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting in Game 1), play aggressive man-to-man defense, and replace Al Horford in the starting lineup with Matisse Thybulle. As I mentioned after Game 1, Shake Milton just isn’t that good in 2K. Thybulle’s ability to rack up steals and pretty smooth jumper make him an easy choice.

The game started out close. We both shot 50 percent and played solid defense in the first quarter, and I only went into the second quarter up 11-10. It wasn’t until an 18-7 run in the second period that Simmons got going, I made some threes, and the defense locked in.

Simmons was unstoppable again. He racked up 22 points and 6 assists with 11-of-13 shooting — it’s easy to create matchup problems with him against the Celtics’ smaller guards. I also made more of an effort to get Tobias Harris going. Pick-and-pops worked like a charm in this game, and Harris was part of that. He finished with 18 points (second on the team to Simmons) on 7-of-13 shooting. Thybulle was excellent, too. I kept the ball moving a lot and looked to kick passes outside whenever the Celtics helped too much on post-ups or drives, and Thybulle capitalized with 11 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting (3-of-3 from deep).

After pulling away with a 16-6 run through the third quarter, and ultimately shooting 68 percent overall, the game was over.

Game 3 will be on Sunday, June 21, and will be streamed live again on Adam’s Twitch at 12 PM ET.