2 Clippers, 2 Suns advance to NBA 2K semis

Players from the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers took control of the NBA 2K Players Tournament on Thursday.In quarterfinal games that aired on ESPN2, the Suns’ Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley emerged with wins.The semifinals will see the two Western Conference rivals squaring off twice, as Ayton will oppose Beverley, and Booker will meet Harrell.Ayton, the 10th seed in the 16-player event, posted a 73-66 win over second-seeded Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. Ayton competed using the Clippers while Young played as the Los Angeles Lakers.Harrell, seeded eight, got past 16th-seeded Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat 71-66. Harrell utilized the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster while Jones played as the Dallas Mavericks.Booker, the fifth seed, defeated 13th-seeded Rui Hachimura of the Washington Wizards 71-55. Booker competed as the Mavericks while Hachimura played as the Clippers.In the night’s finale, 14th-seeded Beverley got past sixth-seeded Andre Drummond of the Cleveland Cavaliers 69-62. Beverley prevailed as the Philadelphia 76ers while Drummond controlled the Milwaukee Bucks.Beverley took a victory lap around his game room after the final buzzer, then shouted, “Who next? Who next?”Drummond earlier acknowledged Beverley’s skills, saying, “This man’s cold at defense in real life and in the game.”Beverley replied, “I try to be, man. I try to be.”The tournament is set to conclude Saturday with the semifinals and final on ESPN, though the air times had yet to be announced.The champion will get $100,000 to donate to the coronavirus-relief charity of his choice.All games are available live on the NBA or NBA 2K Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook channels.