Magic Gaming Comes Up Short Against Knicks Gaming in TIPOFF Group Play

The Lead

While their defense kept them within striking distance throughout, Magic Gaming was unable to get into much of an offensive rhythm in a 51-45 loss to Knicks Gaming in group pool play action of THE TIPOFF on Thursday night.

Top Magic Gaming Performers

While it was a tough shooting night across the board for the Magic, Justin “Snubby” Stemerman heated up in the second half and finished with a team-high 14 points. Blaine “BigReign” Wilson, meanwhile, did a number on the glass, amassing 15 rebounds to go along with eight points and four steals.

Key Stretch

The Knicks scored the final 10 points of the second quarter to take a nine-point lead into halftime. Ludlow “Glo” Samuels, New York’s first-round draft pick a year ago, started the run with a dunk and Kerry “Kerry” Thompson also had a jam shortly before intermission.

Key Stats

Both teams combined to go 10-of-40 from 3-point range. The Knicks accumulated 16 assists, double what the Magic had. Christopher “Duck” Charles, the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft, dished out eight of them.

Quote of the Night

“I think we have a really smart team. I think we can be special on both ends by the end of the year. I think we just need to put the work in to get there…Communication is one thing we need to work on. Personally, me too – I don’t talk enough sometimes. And then I think another thing we need to do is just start taking advantage of the open (shots) we get. I feel like we miss a lot when we get open.” – BigReign

Up Next

Magic Gaming is back in action for more TIPOFF group play next week, starting with a showdown against Hornets Venom GT on Tuesday at 10 p.m. Charlotte played at the same time as Orlando on Thursday. They, too, were unable to come away with a victory, falling 76-67 to NetsGC. Glenn “Glennratty” Wilkerson led the Hornets with 25 points, while Damon “DJ” Jones posted 17 points and 15 rebounds.