Saturday 4 April 2020 11:29, UK
With the NBA season on an indefinite hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, a handful of the league's players provided some live entertainment on Friday night as the 16-player NBA 2K Players Tournament opened.
Players are seeded by their overall rating in the NBA 2K20 title, then by tenure in the league.
Durant, the injured Brooklyn Nets star who has a 96 rating, chose the LA Clippers as his team but said he was let down by his defence in the lopsided loss to Jones (78 rating).
The Miami Heat forward, who was the NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner at All-Star Weekend in February, used the Milwaukee Bucks in his 78-62 victory.
Jones got 22 points from Khris Middleton and 20 from Giannis Antetokounmpo in the virtual game.
Players in the tournament are allowed a pool of eight teams they can choose from during the tournament, but each team can be used by that player just once. Jones advances to the quarter-finals, but he cannot play as Milwaukee again.
Jones and Durant had little to say during their match-up, but Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton kept the chatter lively in what was a two-point game at half-time. The 7-vs.-10 match-up was a meeting between to 85-rated players.
Ayton kept the ball in the hands of Russell Westbrook while utilising the "small ball" Houston Rockets. LaVine went with the Heat, starting the game with a three-pointer from Duncan Robinson.
Ayton is known for his 2K prowess - he said during the game he's been playing since NBA 2K09 came out. LaVine, who admitted to being a newbie, trailed by five entering the fourth quarter. He missed a barrage of three-point tries in the third, and the wheels fell off fully in the fourth.
"You moving too fast," Ayton jabbed as his lead crept higher en route to a 57-41 win.
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, playing as the Bucks, obliterated Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, playing as the Toronto Raptors, 101-59. Young, the event's second seed with a 90 NBA 2K20 rating, advances to a quarter-final matchup with Ayton.
In the final game of the night, LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, using the Bucks, produced an 84-54 rout of Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside, playing as the Los Angeles Lakers. Beverley is seeded 14th with a 78 rating.
The first round continues Sunday with the last four games, all to air live on all available live on the NBA or NBA 2K Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook channels.
No 8 Montrezl Harrell (LA Clippers) vs No 9 Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers)
No 4 Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz) vs Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards)
No 5 Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) vs No 12 Michael Porter Jr (Denver Nuggets)
No 6 Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers) vs. No. 11 DeMarcus Cousins (free agent)
