Rookie Caesar A. Martinez (CEEZ) Set Single-Game Franchise Record with 50 Points

On Saturday evening, Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, was victorious in two games over Heat Check Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Miami Heat, by scores of 89-69 and 88-79. As a result, Hawks Talon, who will enter Week 3 on a five-game winning streak, sits at a 5-3 record for the 2021 NBA 2K League regular season.

“It was important for us to continue our momentum in both of our games against Heat Check Gaming tonight,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Wesley Acuff. “These games felt much closer than the final scores reflected. As a team, we continued to push and create opportunities for each other, and I was excited to see our team continue to make extra passes and find the open man. This led to our success tonight, and frankly, all weekend long. We look forward to reviewing the film from this weekend’s games and finding things we can improve upon as we enter Week 3.”

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In the first game, Hawks Talon recorded a season-high 89 points in the team’s victory over Heat Check Gaming. Leading the way was 2021 first-round pick Caesar A. Martinez (CEEZ) who totaled a game-high 33 points and 10 assists. Michael Diaz-Cruz (BP), who switched to play the role of secondary ballhandler for the first team this season, contributed with a season-high 24 points and five assists. Lee Lamb (LEE) contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Michael Swanegan (SWANN) added 11 points and two rebounds. The team’s 2021 second-round draft pick, Thomas Batts (FAKIEE), added nine points, three rebounds and a career-high four assists.

In the second game, Hawks Talon’s 2021 first-round draft pick CEEZ set a single-game franchise-record scoring 50 points, which was highlighted by a career-best nine three-point field goals. He also added a team-high 11 assists, resulting in his fifth double-double performance of the regular season. LEE, who earned recognition on the 2020 NBA 2K League All-Rookie Team, totaled 18 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and seven assists. This marked LEE’s sixth double-double performance of the season. Rounding out the group was BP who totaled 11 points, FAKIEE who added six points and three rebounds, and SWANN who contributed with three points, two rebounds, two assists and a team-high two steals.

Hawks Talon Gaming (5-3) will continue the regular season against Celtics Crossover Gaming (1-3), the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Boston Celtics, on Saturday, June 12 at 7 p.m. for Week 3 of the NBA 2K League regular season. These games will be simulcast live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Games will also be available on ESRevolution, Loco in India, Sport1 in Europe and Dash Radio.