NBA 2K Players Tournament: Final 4 set after Thursday's action

From an initial field of 16 in the NBA 2K Players Tournament, four combatants remain after Thursday's single-knockout quarterfinal round.

The players were seeded by their in-game overall ranking. They were not allowed to select a team they previously chose - meaning everyone who rode the Milwaukee Bucks to victory in the first round had to switch things up in the second round.

Here's how the action played out:

Game 1: No. 5 Booker vs. No. 13 Hachimura

Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura picked the Los Angeles Clippers, while Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker stayed close to his home market with the Dallas Mavericks.

With the game neck-and-neck to start the first quarter, Booker encouraged digital Luka Doncic to get aggressive. The virtual encouragement clearly had a resounding effect on the Mavs, as Booker pulled away with a big 71-55 win.

Not even Hachimura's waterboy/assistant coach could save the rook.

Game 2: No. 8 Harrell vs. No. 16 Jones

The Miami Heat's Derrick Jones Jr. initially floated the possibility of playing as the Philadelphia 76ers, but changed his mind when the Clippers' Montrezl Harrell threatened to pick the Bucks. Jones ultimately went with the Mavs, and Harrell followed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

With Harrell's Blazers nursing a solid lead in the fourth, Jones hoped Doncic could lead his squad to a fourth-quarter comeback.

It wasn't meant to be, however. Harrell held on for the 71-66 win, sending Jones packing.

Game 3: No. 2 Young vs. No. 10 Ayton

The quarterfinals produced the first all-L.A. battle, with the Suns' Deandre Ayton rolling with the Clippers and Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young choosing the Lakers.

The Ayton-Young video game history apparently runs pretty deep; during the second quarter, the two talked about facing each other in 2K while both were teammates on Team West at the 2017 McDonald's All-American Game.

Whether or not Trae had the edge in their previous meetings, Ayton took the W on Thursday, winning 73-66.

Game 4: No. 6 Drummond vs. No. 14 Beverley

Capping the quarterfinals was a great battle between Cleveland Cavaliers big Andre Drummond, who rocked the Bucks, and Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, who picked the 76ers.

Beverley was the star of the show, chiding Drummond with trash talk throughout the affair - going as far as to accuse the perennial rebounding titleholder of working the officials.

In the end, Beverley's bite lived up to his bark, taking a 69-62 win.

What's next?

The semifinals and finals take place Saturday. The remaining matchups both feature a Suns players taking on a Clippers player:

• No. 5 Booker vs. No. 8 Harrell
• No. 10 Ayton vs. No. 14 Beverley

Both rounds will be a best-of-three series, with the champion taking home $100,000 for charity.