PHOTO: Magic Gaming point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter (photo credit Abner Withers, Orlando Magic)
By Dan Savage, MagicGaming.nba.com
Magic Gaming Drops SLAM OPEN Opener Against Pistons GT
The Lead: Orlando had multiple opportunities to claim game victories in their first series of the SLAM OPEN 3v3 tournament, but dropped the group play matchup against Detroit, 3-1.
Game 1: Despite an early lead for Magic Gaming, Pistons floor general Anthony “ANT” Costanzo fired off a contest-best 12 points to propel his squad to a 22-18 victory.
Orlando point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter led Magic Gaming with nine points and three assists.
Game 2: Detroit got the best of Orlando in a close contest once again. ANT poured in a game-high 12 points to lift Pistons GT to a 21-18 triumph.
Magic Gaming power forward Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano recorded a team-high nine points in the defeat.
Game 3: LowkeyGodlike came up with big plays on both ends of the court to help Orlando get on the board with a 21-16 victory over Detroit. The versatile big man finished with eight points and three rebounds. Unguardable poured in eight points, including a game-winning corner 3-pointer, to go along with four assists.
Game 4: Any hopes of an Orlando comeback were dashed by Detroit quickly in the series finale. ANT erupted for 11 points as Pistons GT rolled to a 21-13 win.
Unguardable led Magic Gaming in points (five) and assists (four).
Quote to Note: “We had the lead in the first two games of that series. We just didn’t execute down the stretch. We gave up way too many threes tonight in general. (It felt like) we gave up more threes than any team in the league so far. We had a lack of discipline and that was taken advantage of.” – Magic Gaming General Manager and Head Coach Jonah Edwards.
Magic Gaming Suffers Reverse Sweep at Hands of Gen.G
The Lead: After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead, Magic Gaming dropped three straight contests to the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai.
Game 1: The series opener featured quite the back-and-forth battle, but it was Magic Gaming that would ultimately come out on top. Unguardable posted a contest-best 11 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer, to lift Orlando to a 22-19 victory over Gen.G.
Rookie Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares delivered on both ends of the floor, notching seven points and four steals.
Game 2: Magic Gaming never trailed on their way to a 22-18 triumph over Gen.G. LowkeyGodlike scored a team-high nine, while Jboolin went a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor on his way to eight points.
Unguardable knocked down the game-clinching triple and finished the contest with five points and four assists.
Game 3: Orlando fell behind early and was unable to climb back as it dropped a 21-13 decision to Gen.G. Point guard Jaiden “gallow” Frank poured in a contest-best 13 points for the Tigers, while Justin “Jolo” Perry added eight.
Unguardable led Magic Gaming with nine points.
Game 4: The momentum of the series began to swing in the fourth contest of the series. Gallow scored 10 points as Gen.G rattled off a 21-12 victory over Magic Gaming.
Unguardable notched six points and three assists for Orlando.
Game 5: The final three contests of this series felt like repeat performances. Gallow exploded for 15 points as Gen.G claimed the matchup and the series by handing Magic Gaming a 21-11 defeat.
Gen.G’s floor general went a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the series finale.
Quote to Note: “(In the final three games), we lacked communication. We let gallow to get where he wanted. We didn’t command the court. Any time he got the switch, they took advantage. They got a lot of threes off the switch as well. And the times they didn’t, he ran to the rim freely with no resistance at all. He was just moving free and feeling good, and rightfully so after he got things going in that third game.” – Edwards
Up Next: Magic Gaming continues SLAM OPEN 3v3 group play action on Friday against NBL Oz Gaming at 6:45 p.m. ET. All series are best-of-five matchups.
How to Watch: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
About Magic Gaming
Magic Gaming, based in Orlando, Fla., is one of 25 teams competing in the NBA 2K League entering its seventh season. The NBA 2K League is a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., which began play in May 2018. The league features the best 125 NBA 2K players in the world. Magic Gaming’s five-man roster competes as unique characters in 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. Follow Magic Gaming on Twitch – OrlandoMagicGaming, Instagram/Twitter – @MagicGaming, Facebook/Magic Gaming or at www.MagicGaming.nba.com.
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