NBA 2K Players Tournament recap: Andre Drummond crushes Boogie to close out first round

The NBA 2K Players tournament continues on Sunday afternoon with the remainder of the first round. Things started off hot on Friday night with four matches. Here’s a recap of that action if you want to take a look and we’ll also provide TV info and the bracket heading into Sunday.

Live Updates for NBA Players Tournament First Round

(8) Montrezl Harrell defeats (9) Domantas Sabonis
(13) Rui Hachimura defeats (4) Donovan Mitchell
(5) Devin Booker defeats (12) Michael Porter Jr.
(6) Andre Drummond defeats (11) DeMarcus Cousins

Final Update — Drummond laid the smack down on Boogie to close out the first round, tying Trae Young for the most points scored by a team in the tournament with 101. Boogie only managed 49 points. So our second round matches are set, here’s how they look:

(16) Derrick Jones Jr. vs. (8) Montrezl Harrell
(2) Trae Young vs. (10) Deandre Ayton
(5) Devin Booker vs. (13) Rui Hachimura
(6) Andre Drummond vs. (14) Patrick Beverley

Update — It’s the start of the third and Drummond is up on Boogie and is starting to pull away. The winner goes on to face Patrick Beverley in the second round. Boogie vs. Bev would have been an interesting stream.

Update — DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond are underway. Drumm is the Lakers and Boogie is playing with the Nets.

Final Update — Porter put up a fight but ultimately Booker was too much for the Nuggets forward. Booker pulled off the 85-75 victory and will play Rui Hachimura in the second round on Tuesday.

Update — Booker is taking care of business as the favorite against Porter. The Suns guard is up to a double-digit lead in the third quarter and appears poised to set up a date with Rui Hachimura in the second round.

Update — Next up is Booker vs. Porter. The Suns All-Star is playing as Giannis and the Bucks while the youngster from the Nuggets is using the Lakers.

Final Update — Hachimura holds on! Rui pulled off the big time upset on Mitchell in the tightest contest we’ve had so far in the first round. Hachimura advances to the second round with a 74-71 win. Mitchell missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer! Hachimura will go on to face the winner of Booker vs. Porter.

Highlight — Rui may have the upper hand with his own water boy:

Halftime Update — Rui went to halftime up 38-34 in a tight matchup with D-Mitch. We’ll see if Mitchell, who is the favorite, can get back into the game and take a lead here.

Mitchell starts off hot with KD and has been vocal, almost like a coach on the sideline. He’s very locked in and wants this W.

7:01 p.m. — Next up is Donovan Mitchell vs. Rui Hachimura, the 4-13 matchup in the bracket. Mitchell has sounded confident in interviews, we’ll see how his game is in a bit. D-Mitch is playing as the Nets and Hachimura is the Lakers.

Final Update — It was fun watching Sabonis play 2K but sadly the game ended heavily in favor of Harrell 71-53. The Pacers All-Star played himself admirably in the first matchup we saw both NBA players operate as their teams. Montrezl looked good with himself, but was admittedly critical of his performance. So Harrell will advance to play Derrick Jones Jr. in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

6:32 p.m. — Sabonis is still down and Harrell is running away. Sabonis has opted to iso himself down low and has made 1-3 the past two possessions.

Halftime Update — Harrell leads Sabonis 30-23 at halftime of the first match of the night. Harrell is using the Clips and Sabonis is using the Pacers, which is the first time we’ve seen this in the tournament. It’s been a fun environment so far, Harrell gets hype and Sabonis is struggling a bit, but hanging in there. Not as much trash talking as the night cap from Friday between Patrick Beverley and Hassan Whiteside.

6:10 p.m. — Our first match of the day is underway with Sabonis vs. Harrell. This is the 8-9 matchup and the winner will face Derrick Jones Jr. in the second round. Both players went with their actual teams — Clippers and Pacers — so we’ll see if that alters the usage for each player.

First round — Sunday, ESPN2 6-10 PM ET

(8) Montrezl Harrell vs. (9) Domantas Sabonis
(4) Donovan Mitchell vs. (13) Rui Hachimura
(5) Devin Booker vs. (12) Michael Porter Jr.
(6) Andre Drummond vs. (11) DeMarcus Cousins

Recap

(16) Derrick Jones Jr. defeated (1) Kevin Durant
(10) Deandre Ayton defeated (7) Zach LaVine
(2) Trae Young defeated (15) Harrison Barnes
(14) Patrick Beverley defeated (3) Hassan Whiteside

Derrick Jones Jr. plays the winner of Harrell vs. Sabonis
Deandre Ayton plays Trae Young in quarterfinals on Tuesday
Patrick Beverley plays the winner of Drummond vs. Cousins

The rest of the tournament will be held Tuesday (quarterfinals) from 7-11 PM ET on ESPN2 and Saturday (semifinals/finals) on ESPN — time TBD.