Montrezl Harrell Defeats Derrick Jones Jr. in NBA 2K20 Quarterfinals
After dominating Domantas Sabonis in the opening round of the NBA 2K20 Players Tournament, L.A. Clippers big Montrezl Harrell squeaked by Miami Heat wing Derrick Jones Jr. by a final of 71-66 in the Quarterfinals.
Harrell chose the Portland Trail Blazers against Jones' Dallas Mavericks, which worked out well for him. He struggled to defend the Mavs' bigs, including Kristaps Porzingis and Boban Marjanovic, but got a big game out of Damian Lillard that helped him stay in control throughout.
Unlike his game against Sabonis, Thursday's contest was tightly contested from the jump. Harrell's Blazers led by a mere four points at the end of the first quarter, and that margin only extended to six at halftime.
But even with that small margin, Harrell looked like the much better player. His points were coming easier to him by way of fast breaks and open jumpers, while Jones Jr. had to fight a bit harder to score.
By the end of the third quarter, Harrell was fully in control and pushed his lead out to double-figures. From there, he took a conservative approach and controlled the clock until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Jones Jr. made things interesting by cutting Harrell's lead down to just three late, but the Clipper managed to hang on.
With the win, Harrell will move on to face Devin Booker in the Semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, Patrick Beverley will face off with Andre Drummond in a little less than an hour. Assuming Beverley wins that contest, he'll meet either Trae Young or Deandre Ayton in the next round.
With that, it's still possible that we end up seeing Harrell and Beverley compete for the title of the league's best NBA 2K player.
