Raptors Uprising split pair of games vs. Mavs Gaming to open Week 4

TORONTO, Canada—Raptors Uprising GC, NBA 2K League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, put in their best performance of the season Wednesday night, splitting a pair of games against Mavs Gaming to kick off Week 4 NBA 2K League action.

In the first game of the evening, Raptors Uprising (2-10) came out firing on all cylinders. The team would build a five-point lead after the first quarter, and extend it to a season-best 14 at halftime, large in part to shooting guard ReeceMode’s opening-half 14 points.

The second half was much of the same, as reigning MVP Kenny Got Work would start to take over. Kenny, who was limited to just four points heading into the break, would catch fire, scoring an eye-opening 30 points in the final two quarters, as he finished this contest with a game-high 34 points to go along with six assists and two steals on an efficient 12-of-18 shooting from the floor.

When all was said and done, four out of five Raptors Uprising players would finish in double-digit scoring as the team from the North would take the opening game by 20 points, snapping Mavs Gaming’s (4-4) three-game winning streak in the process.

Toronto’s 86 points scored was a season-high, while their 66 points allowed also tied a season best as the team continues to make strides following a rough start to the year.

“We played really good Game 1, we did everything we practiced in scrims and worked on, and obviously, it translated into Game 1, and that was perfect for us. And I think Game 1 kind of showed what we’ve been working on all week,” said Type.

“We did a lot of good things on defence I feel like, we got our self going. We got off to the break. We had a big lead in the second half, but that only happened because we got off to a great run. When you get off to a great run in this league, it’s hard to look back, so that’s something we need to keep going.”

Unfortunately for Raptors Uprising, they couldn’t carry that momentum over into Game 2 as Mavs Gaming put up much more a fight, knocking down a couple of tough shots early that really knocked the wind out of their sail.

Although Toronto would manage to keep things close until the fourth quarter, it’d be Dallas who would pull away late, as 2018 first-overall pick Dimez would pour in 38 points and add 10 assists to give his team the victory.

“In Game 2, we could’ve had another great run, they unfortunately hit some huge shots in that first quarter, but we were just there from making another flood happen,” said Type. “But unfortunately, we were on the other side of the stick Game 2.”

One of the lone bright spots for Raptors Uprising in the second game of the evening was the play of Type, who had a strong game down low battling it out with former Toronto big man Sick One. Type would finish with a 24-point, 13-assist double-double to go along with two blocks in what may have been his best game in a Raptors Uprising uniform since being acquired in the offseason.

“I definitely feel like I’m finding my own, definitely settling in, but I don’t feel like I’ve reached my full potential yet,” said Type. “I feel like I still have a lot of work to do. Obviously, you can see spurts of me doing good and other stuff I have to clean up, so as an individual, I think there’s a lot of stuff I need to do to get better.

“One thing I’ve been working on this week is being a leader and trying to make sure the guys are going, and that’s something you can control yourself, so I’ve been working on that and that’s something that’s helped us and translated to games.”

Raptors Uprising vs. Mavs Gaming: Game 1 | Game 2

With Wednesday night’s games in the books, Raptors Uprising will turn their attention to a marquee matchup Thursday evening against the defending NBA 2K League champions Wizards District Gaming (7-3). Washington, who got the better of Toronto earlier this season, enters this matchup riding a three-game winning streak.

“It’s definitely a revenge game. They kind of kicked our ass that first time, so I want to get them back,” said Type. “I think that we have the team to beat them. When we have all five guys clicking on all cylinders, you can see what we do. If we come and we have a good start like we did today, we should be playing good against the Wizards.”

Tipoff times Wednesday night is set for 7:15 pm and 8:15 pm EST. As always, fans can tune in on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch or YouTube channels.