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We’re one win away from taking the Sixers-Celtics NBA 2K playoff series between Liberty Ballers and CelticsBlog for SB Nation’s video game week. As the representative of LB, I’ve been playing against CelticsBlog’s Adam Taylor. And after losing 57-48 in Game 3, I was able to bounce back in Game 4 and win, 81-61.
The game was close through the first quarter, and I only went into the second period up 19-14. There were stretches through the game where I had trouble containing Adam’s Celtics and preventing them from getting to the basket as well. But after pulling away 21-11 in the second quarter and 20-12 in the third, I was able to hold out for the win, despite Adam’s red-hot 85 percent shooting in the fourth quarter. My fast break game also turned around — after scoring 2 points in transition in Game 3, I scored 18 such points in Game 4.
Ben Simmons was unstoppable for me in this game. He finished with perfect 10-of-10 shooting, tallying a team-high 22 points to go along with a steal and a pair of blocks. I tried to get more creative with dribble moves to help free him up on drives and fast breaks, and managed to find success. Tobias Harris was solid with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-of-3 from deep — unfortunately, his release seems incredibly slow in 2K), while Joel Embiid was reliable all around with 11 points and 12 rebounds. I’ve also slowly got the hang of Josh Richardson’s release in this series, and used him to pick up 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting (2-of-3 from three).
Aggressively attacking inside was key for my offense. When facing zone defenses, I kept the ball moving as much as possible and hit the corners often for clear looks, ultimately finishing with 67 percent shooting and a 10-of-20 mark from three.
Jaylen Brown was the biggest problem for my defense. He racked up 18 points and shot 7-of-9 from the floor thanks to a handful of strong drives, and the Celtics were efficient overall with 54 percent shooting.
The potential series-ending Game 5 will be streamed live on Adam’s Twitch this Friday, if you’re after any kind of basketball content to watch (the time will be confirmed and updated here shortly).