With the 1-on-1 Tournament set to begin on Wednesday, Unrivaled regular-season action temporarily pauses after a pair of Monday night games.<\/p>\n
First, we had Phantom coming from behind to beat Vinyl 76-73, and then Mist dominating Rose 90-64.<\/p>\n
Phantom\u2019s one-two punch knocks out Vinyl<\/p>\n
In traditional basketball, a couple of players can make all the difference. While basketball is a team sport, there are only a handful of players on the court at a time, so if one or two can play above the rest of the competition, it can tip the scales in one direction.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what happened in Phantom\u2019s win over Vinyl as Kelsey Plum and Aliyah Boston were unstoppable.<\/p>\n
Boston had a game-high 33 points along with 16 rebounds, earning Player of the Game honors. Plum scored 30 points and shot 50 percent from the field. That means the pair scored 63 of their team\u2019s 76 points.<\/p>\n
It was simply an unreal performance from the best guard-big combo in Unrivaled.<\/p>\n
The victory clinched a playoff spot for Phantom, making them the second Unrivaled team to punch their ticket to the postseason.<\/p>\n
Even as Boston and Plum were almost unguardable, the game wasn\u2019t easy for Phantom.<\/p>\n
Midway through the third, Vinyl was ahead by 11. Then, Phantom went on a run. Boston scored inside, Kiki Iriafen converted a basket, Natasha Cloud hit a 3, and after a make from beyond the arc from Boston, it was suddenly a one-point game.<\/p>\n
Vinyl re-established some breathing room entering the fourth, as they were ahead 65-61. Plum and Iriafen scored four-unanswered points to once again cut the deficit down to one, but Vinyl kept Phantom at bay for a bit longer with makes from Erica Wheeler, Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner.<\/p>\n
With the winning score set at 76 and Vinyl at 73 point, they were knocking on the door of victory.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for them, their shots went cold\u2014and Plum took over. She hit a 3-pointer to put Phantom ahead and then she destroyed Rae Burrell, her Los Angeles Sparks teammate, with a pump fake and some fancy footwork to win the game.<\/p>\n
This season has been a letdown for Vinyl. They\u2019ve struggled all year, and at 4-7, just making the postseason would be an accomplishment.<\/p>\n
Howard had a good game with 22 points, and Dearica Hamby was efficient with 14 points on 60 percent shooting, but a bad shift in the third quarter and some poor offensive execution down the stretch led to another fall-from-ahead loss.<\/p>\n
Mist vs. Rose was over before it began<\/p>\n