Blazer5 guard has esports night to remember, pouring in 77 points

Reigning NBA 2K League MVP Nidal (Mama Im Dat Man) Nasser poured in 77 points Tuesday, setting a regulation-time scoring record as Blazer5 Gaming thumped Bucks Gaming 105-62 in the opening game of their best-of-three esports series.

The league single-game record of 84 points is held by Grizz Gaming's Mehyar (AuthenticAfrican) Ahmed-Hassan, who set the mark in July 2108 in a 101-93 triple overtime loss to 76ers GC.

The Bucks rallied for an 83-72 win in Game 2 with Nasser leading the Blazers with 32 points and 11 assists. Nasser added 42 more points and six assists in Game 3 as Portland wrapped up the series with a 71-65 victory.

In Game 1, Nasser also set league records with 31 points in the first quarter (which saw Portland race to a 33-11 lead) and 46 at the half.

The Bucks likely won few fans in their late bid to deny Nasser the single-game record. They threw body after body at the Blazers point guard and took repeated shot-clock violations in the final quarter to kill the clock.

Nasser made 30 of 35 shots, including seven of eight from three-point range, and had eight assists.

The Blazers took Nasser in the second round (29th overall) of the league's inaugural 2018 draft. Nasser and teammate Dayne (OneWildWalnut) Downey, the league's 2018 MVP and top defensive player, were both named to the NBA 2K League first all-star team in 2019.

Portland improved to 3-0 while the Bucks slipped to 2-3.

Raptors Uprising GC, whose 6-0 record was the best in the league heading into Tuesday's play, has a bye week before playing Nets GC on June 5 in Week 5 play.

The esports league is playing the first six rounds of the season remotely rather than in the league's New YorkCity studio due to the global pandemic. A decision on the remainder of the schedule is to come.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2020.