FantaSZN’s Magic Gaming Debut Spoiled by Celtics Crossover Gaming in OT

ORLANDO – It was nearly a storybook Magic Gaming debut for Emmanuel “FantaSZN” Gosman.

In his first game since being traded to Orlando just one day earlier, the third-year shooting guard knocked down a 3-pointer for the contest’s opening bucket, hit a huge triple to close out the first half, and drained a clutch go-ahead shot from deep with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for Orlando, that effort was not enough as Magic Gaming came up just short in a 78-73 overtime loss to Celtics Crossover Gaming in THE TURN 5v5 group play action on Wednesday.

While there were plenty of missed shots in the extra session that will certainly have Orlando frustrated when it reviews the film, Magic Gaming’s defense on one of the final possessions of regulation is what will keep them up at night.

With Orlando holding a three-point lead and less than seven seconds on the clock, Boston, which was out of timeouts, inbounded the basketball. A miscommunication on defense allowed Celtics Crossover Gaming point guard David “Leche” Jamous to break free and drain a game-tying triple with 4.6 ticks left that forced overtime.

“It was a breakdown that was unacceptable,” said Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards. “At the end of the day, it’s on me. There was miscommunication on who was supposed to guard the corner and who was going to roam on the play and (center Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano and power forward Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares) both did the job of the roamer. So, we broke down. It’s just unacceptable. And I take full accountability for it.”

Leche scored a game-high 38, while center Jhade “Colt” Black added 22 points and 18 rebounds for Boston.

It was a disheartening defeat for an Orlando team that dropped to 2-5 in 2KL 5v5 action. In six of those seven games, Magic Gaming has held the lead with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. In Wednesday’s outing, Orlando did not trail until the final minutes.

“We’re a team right now that’s missing a lot of open shots and is not converting down the stretch, and yet, we’re still in it every game,” said Edwards. “There are some silver linings there, but at a certain point, you are what your record is … We have to close games now or the season is going to pass us by.”

On the bright side, FantaSZN, who was acquired from Mavs Gaming on Tuesday in exchange for Darjean “ReturnOfDJ” Henderson, looked like quite the valuable addition, as he fired off 24 points in his Orlando debut.

“I love his assertiveness,” said Edwards. “He has a natural (ability) to find his way into the game … He’s been a big upgrade already for us internally. He really gives us a lot of effort. You can tell he comes from a structured environment and is trying to rub everyone the right way here … He was great tonight.”

LowkeyGodlike finished with team highs in points (26) and rebounds (19) for Orlando.

Up Next: Magic Gaming returns to TURN group play action on Thursday when they face Raptors Uprising GC at 8 p.m. ET.

HOW TO WATCH: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.