Memphis Grizzlies point guard Brevin Knight doesn't consider himself a video-game junkie, but he knows enough about video games -- and obviously knows enough about basketball -- to know good virtual hoops when he sees it. So when Knight was in New York during a recent Grizzlies road trip, he stopped by the office to give Sega's NBA2K2 a run. Knight squared off against NBA.com editor Bryan "Bison" Williams to see who had more natural gaming talent, as neither of the two had played the game before.

PREGAME:
Knight picks his own team, the Memphis Grizzlies. Williams, a Seattle native, chooses his hometown Sonics. The game consists of four three-minute quarters with the Sonics at home.

1ST QUARTER:

Williams and Knight square off.
"Oh yeah, I think the B button is jump," Knight less than gamely tells Williams well after the ref has tossed the ball in the air for the opening tip. Big Country wins the tip--Calvin Booth never even leaves the ground--and the Grizz control the ball. Knight is obviously out to win.

The Grizzlies open with a quick Bryant Reeves jumper in the lane. "Yeah, get some, B.C.!" screams Knight. The Sonics then inbound the ball and counter with ... a full-court Vin Baker heave. "Whatever, dawg," says Knight as the ball is sailing through the Key Arena rafters. Knight is then strangely silent after Baker's hail-mary meets nothing but twine. Williams' Sonics jump out to an early 3-2 lead.

After J-Dub (Jason Williams) misses two early 3's, coach Knight pulls the starting point guard and brings himself into the game. "You see, J-Dub's been on a bit of a down streak lately," justifies coach Knight. Knight checks in from the scorer's table, penetrates and immediately hits a layup.

Williams steers Payton down the lane and sends a running jumper towards the hoop. Lorenzen Wright rises up and swats the ball into the bleachers. This sends Knight into a tizzy. "Yeah, give me some pounds, Ren!" he screams.

End of 1st Quarter: Memphis 10, Seattle 7

2ND QUARTER:

Knight drives himself to the hoop.
Williams inbounds the ball and mimics his opening quarter strategy with a second full-court shot. This baseball toss misses everything. Knight laughs. Williams fumes.

Coach Knight quickly develops a simple strategy: Give himself the ball. Thanks to this game plan, video Knight has seven points at the end of the half.

Quote of the day: "Do I run like that?" asks Knight while watching himself lead the fastbreak. Williams and others in the room tell him that, in fact, he does. The game's pretty realistic.

End of First Half: Memphis 21, Seattle 15

3RD QUARTER:
Knight dribbles to the left, does a wicked crossover dribble, leaves Payton in the dust, and drains a reverse layup. This sends coach Knight into euphorics. The game even gives him an instant replay.

After a Grizzlies basket, Williams in-bounds the ball to Baker directly beneath the Seattle basket. Baker takes one dribble, stops, then readies himself for another fullcourt heave. "Go for it," says Knight. Baker pump fakes, as if contemplating the shot, but coach Williams makes him pass it off.

"Smart move," says Knight.

Second quote of the day: "Get some, Spanish Fly," says Knight after Pau Gasol heats up and hits back-to-back jumpers.

End of 3rd Quarter: Memphis 33, Seattle 23

4TH QUARTER:

Knight coasting at the end.
After falling behind by as many as 15 points, coach Williams has seen enough. He pulls most of Seattle's starters and goes with the second team. High-flying artist Desmond Mason promptly puts on a dunking clinic.

"You should have had him in the whole game," Knight tells Williams.

"I think he can dunk from the 3-point line," Williams says to Knight.

Mason's antics aside, the game is well out of reach. Video Knight hits a 3-pointer with a few clicks left. Seattle inbounds the ball. Earl Watson gives it to Baker underneath the Sonics basket. The clock is winding down. Baker cocks back and lets it fly. Yet another fullcourt attempt. Both Knight and Williams stand up from their chairs as the ball floats through the air. The final buzzer sounds. The ball approaches the basket.

Swish.

Williams almost slams his controller to the ground, but catches himself and pumps his fist instead. A small victory. Knight is left shaking his head.

Final Score: Memphis 44, Seattle 31

NOTES: Video Knight is the high scorer and finishes the game with 15 points ... "I'll play you anytime," Knight says to Williams as the two humans shake hands on their way to the elevator ... Williams has since mastered the jump button, and vows revenge on the next pro hoopster to set foot in his house. "Now that I know which button is shoot and which button is pass, I challenge Brevin to a rematch," says Williams. "He demonstrated no ability to contain Desmond, and Vin has unexpectedly emerged as a legitimate perimeter threat." ... A date for a rematch has not been set.