NBA 2K Tournament Recap: Patrick Beverley crashes out in semifinal to Deandre Ayton

Patrick Beverley was the Los Angeles Clippers’ last hope of winning the NBA 2K Tournament, after Montrezl Harrell was eliminated in the first semifinal, but Beverley was also knocked out, losing two straight matches to Deandre Ayton Saturday.

The result was rather surprising, since Beverley had been so strong previously in the players-only tournament and had garnered headlines for his pre-tourney boast he hadn’t lost in NBA 2K for “five [or] six years.”

But Ayton proved to be a more-than-worthy match and his win, coupled with Devin Booker’s in the first semifinal, means it’s an all-Phoenix Suns final.

Beverley played as the Boston Celtics in the opening game, and was down in the first quarter to Ayton’s Brooklyn Nets, but the teams went back and forth throughout the first half, with Ayton just having the upper hand, leading by two at halftime.

Ayton started to pull away in the second half, getting out to a nine-point lead. Beverley’s talk started to come alive with the fourth quarter looming, as he clawed his way back into the game. Beverley took the lead at the end of the third quarter and game one was on.

This one went down to the wire, and after Beverley buried a slashing two when down five, Ayton went to the other end and buried a three that was the dagger, the Suns big man taking game one.

Beverley was hopeful he had found a way to get after his opponent near the end of the first game.

For the second game of the semifinal, Beverley played as the Denver Nuggets and Ayton went with his own Phoenix Suns.

The second game wasn’t as close, as Ayton was in a rhythm and Beverley was playing catch-up throughout. As a result, PatBev’s personality flow really didn’t get going, as he was caught flat-footed by Ayton in 2K. In the end, the second game ended 74-67 to Ayton’s Suns. Beverley dramatically walked away from the camera with the clock running down and the second game basically over.

So we went from thinking the tournament could end in an all-Clippers final and it will actually be a no-Clippers final. Maybe it wasn’t PatBev’s day, he was more subdued than he’s been in the tournament and Ayton had his number throughout. Guess Beverley will have to restart his 2K undefeated clock, and who knows, maybe he’ll get another shot in a competition like this one of these days.