OpTic Texas, the Paris Gentle Mates and the Los Angeles Thieves remained unbeaten after Saturday’s Week 2 qualifying matches for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major.

Also on Saturday, Toronto KOI broke into the winning column to improve to 1-3.

The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.

The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.

The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.

The Los Angeles Thieves (4-0) crushed Boston Breach on Saturday, winning 250-179 on Blackheart Hardpoint, 6-0 on Den Search & Destroy and 7-0 on Den Overload.

Match MVP Thomas “Scrap” Ernst of the United States recorded 76 kills to 59 deaths, while Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez of France had 64 to 45 for a plus-19. No Boston players finished with a positive K-D differential.

The Paris Gentle Mates (3-0) held off the Carolina Royal Ravens 3-1. Paris won the first two maps, 250-217 on Exposure Hardpoint and 6-3 on Colossus Search & Destroy. Carolina stayed alive with a 3-1 win on Den Overload before falling 250-242 on Colossus Hardpoint.

Dylan “Envoy” Hannon had 99 kills and 97 deaths, and Paris teammate and fellow American Travis “Neptune” McCloud had 98 to 96 to be selected match MVP. The Royal Ravens were paced by Logan “Lurqxx” Brown of the United States with 108 kills to 92 deaths.

OpTic Texas (3-0) dropped the first map, Den Hardpoint, 250-200 to the Miami Heretics. Then Texas reeled off wins on Den Search & Destroy (6-5), Exposure Overload (5-3) and Scar Hardpoint (250-209) to take the match.

American Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro was voted match MVP after leading OpTic Texas with 91 kills to 82 deaths. Miami had one player with a positive K-D differential, Spain’s David “RenKoR” Isern with 78 kills to 68 deaths.

Toronto KOI notched their first victory, cruising past G2 Minnesota 250-174 on Den Hardpoint, 6-5 on Raid Search & Destroy and 3-1 on Den Overload.

Nicholas “Kips” Lyons was voted match MVP after he posted 68 kills to 54 deaths for Toronto. Teammate Jamie “Insight” Craven of the United Kingdom had 57 kills to 43 deaths, and Joseph “JoeDeceives” Romero of the United States had 67 kills to 51 deaths. No Minnesota player finished with a positive K-D differential.

The remaining Week 2 matches:

Sunday

–Riyadh Falcons vs. Carolina Royal Ravens

–Vancouver Surge vs. Boston Breach

–OpTic Texas vs. Cloud9 New York

–G2 Minnesota vs. FaZe Vegas

Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)

1. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-0, +10

T2. OpTic Texas, 3-0, +6

T2. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-0, +6

4. FaZe Vegas, 2-1, +3

T5. G2 Minnesota, 1-2, -1

T5. Miami Heretics, 1-2, -1

T7. Carolina Royal Ravens, 1-2, -2

T7. Riyadh Falcons, 1-2, -2

9. Boston Breach, 1-2, -4

10. Toronto KOI, 1-3, -5

T11. Cloud9 New York, 0-2, -5

T11. Vancouver Surge, 0-2, -5

–Field Level Media

One night after erasing an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat visiting Houston, the New York Knicks will look to keep rolling Sunday as they face the slumping Chicago Bulls to begin a three-game road trip.

New York outscored the Rockets 33-15 in the fourth quarter Saturday to win 108-106 and earn its first victory since the All-Star break. The Bulls, meanwhile, have lost a season-worst eight in a row after falling at home to Eastern Conference-leading Detroit 126-110 on Saturday.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson credited the team’s resilience for sparking a turnaround against Houston two nights after New York’s lopsided home loss to Detroit.

“We have to continue to stay focused and just keep taking it day by day,” said Brunson, who went 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter against the Rockets, including a go-ahead jumper with 29.5 seconds left. “We can’t look ahead. We can’t take this for granted. We have to stay focused. That’s the main thing.”

Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 25 points and seven rebounds, his fourth straight effort of 20-plus points.

“Today was a big day for us to build momentum,” Towns said, “build that confidence. … Finally getting those stops and having that translate to offense really changed the game.”

Ball-control issues plagued the Bulls in their latest defeat. Chicago committed 23 turnovers Saturday, as 10 of the 12 players who appeared for the Bulls had at least one giveaway.

“We’ve got guys, multiple guys, with four or five turnovers,” coach Billy Donovan said. “That just can’t happen.”

Josh Giddey scored a game-high 27 points for the Bulls, while center Guerschon Yabusele led the team with eight assists and nine rebounds.

Donovan said Anfernee Simons, who didn’t return after injuring his left wrist in the first half, will undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue.

Chicago remains without fellow guard and recent acquisition Jaden Ivey, who will miss at least the next two weeks with an injured left knee.

Acquired from Detroit in a Feb. 3 trade, Ivey wasn’t on the injury report for Thursday’s game against Toronto. The Bulls announced Saturday morning that he would be out for an extended period.

Ivey is nearly 14 months removed from shattering his left fibula on Jan. 1, 2025. He didn’t make his season debut for the Pistons until Nov. 22.

“I don’t think he’s played at the level that he’s capable of playing at or has played at,” Donovan said. “In my opinion, he’s not moving like he once did.”

Chicago previously lost seven in a row from Nov. 24 to Dec. 7.

The Bulls and Knicks have split their last 10 games, with both teams earning home victories this season.

Chicago defeated visiting New York 135-125 on Oct. 31 before the Knicks returned the favor with a 128-116 victory at Madison Square Garden two days later.

Brunson scored 31 points while Towns registered a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds in the Knicks’ victory.

Giddey had a triple-double of 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to go with two steals in that game.

–Field Level Media

The sliding Philadelphia 76ers have their work cut out for them as they endeavor to stop Anthony Edwards and the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis on Sunday.

It will be the second leg of a back-to-back road set for the Sixers, whose losing streak stretched to four — all by double digits — with a 126-111 defeat against the lowly Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday.

Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse admits his team, which has been without Joel Embiid (right knee and shin injury) for all four of those losses, is in a difficult space.

“It’s tough,” he said. “It’s really tough. Certainly our toughest moment of the season, for sure — all year, without question. We’ve got to get back to being able to play the 48 (minutes).”

Tyrese Maxey, who is averaging 28.9 points per game, had a game-high 27 in New Orleans. But his haul came on a ragged 9 of 23 from the floor, including 2 of 11 from deep.

Across his past seven games, Maxey has shot 41.4% from the field and 25.4% from 3-point range.

He has cooled off after his blistering start to the season, with opposition sides now throwing extra attention his way.

“Obviously, he’s getting a lot of focus,” Nurse said. “They (opponents) are putting two on the basketball a lot, they’re parking another defender in the lane, so there’s a lot that he’s looking at there. … Earlier in the year, he was getting freer movement than he’s ever had, and we just haven’t been able to find that (since).”

In Minnesota, Edwards bumped his season scoring average to a career-best 29.5 as he continues to add new weapons to his burgeoning repertoire.

Fresh off being crowned All-Star Game MVP, Edwards poured in 40 points to lead the Timberwolves to a 122-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Minneapolis on Friday.

It was Minnesota’s third straight win and the 27th 40-plus haul of Edwards’ career.

His performance in the clutch against Dallas stood out.

Subbing in with the score locked at 103 midway through the fourth quarter, Edwards single-handedly outscored the Mavericks 14-8 down the stretch, with a combination of 3-pointers, drives, pullups and turnarounds.

“Ant was awesome,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “He finished the game like he can. I thought his shot selection was really good for the most part — took the right shots. In clutch time, he got to his spots, pretty simply.”

Edwards, who had been accused of settling predictably for 3s in big moments, is mixing it up more now.

He credited Finch’s tough love for him extracting the best form of his career.

“Finchy, I’m not going to lie, he’s the toughest coach I’ve ever had,” Edwards said. “But it works out in my favor because he tells me what I need to work on and what I need to get better at. The past summer, he told me I needed a go-to shot at the end of games. And I was working on that all summer, finding my spots, getting to the spots I’m comfortable in. He’s a big part of my success, honestly.”

Rudy Gobert posted 22 points and 17 rebounds against the Mavericks, but his flagrant foul in the second quarter — his seventh of the season — triggered a one-game suspension, sidelining him for the 76ers clash.

Philadelphia and Minnesota have met 68 times overall, for a 34-all split. The Timberwolves took both encounters last season.

–Field Level Media