Magic Gaming Dealt First Loss of Season by Wizards District Gaming

ORLANDO — After a stellar opening night sweep that showcased Magic Gaming’s offensive balance and efficiency, Orlando was unable to repeat that effort on Friday.

Magic Gaming struggled to find their offensive rhythm against Wizards District Gaming and were dealt their first loss of the season after dropping Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-three series in remote gameplay.

In Game 1, they came up on the wrong end of a heartbreaker, falling 64-62. Caught up in a back-and-forth battle with Washington, Orlando found an open Daniel “djbama” Burge at the top of the arc with time winding down, but his potential game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.

“We got a great shot, you can’t be mad at that,” Magic Head Coach Jonah Edwards said. “But we had every opportunity to win Game 1 and it’s tough to bounce back from a game like that.”

Daniel “DT” Tlais was once against a bright spot at center, notching 21 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, while point guard Brendan “Reizey” Hill added 19 points and nine assists.

In Game 2, Orlando was unable to recover as it dropped a 59-51 decision. Magic Gaming struggled from beyond the arc, knocking down just three of their 12 attempts from long range.

“When you don’t hit all those open shots, it enables teams to rotate more effectively on defense and enables them to leave their man a little bit,” Edwards said. “We weren’t hitting our open shots, we weren’t getting the defense off of us at all, so they were in rhythm and in their comfort zone.”

DT once again led Orlando in points (20) and rebounds (10), while Reizey scored 17 and djbama posted 10 points.

Wizards District Gaming’s John “JBM” Mascone, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft, notched 17 points and nine assists. Maurice “Reesedagod” Delaney, Washington’s leading scorer last season, and Brandon “BRich” Richardson each added 14 points and went 4-for-7 from distance.

Magic Gaming now enters their bye week and returns to action on Friday, May 22 when they face Jazz Gaming at 7 p.m. ET.

“We’re going to keep working and keep trying to improve and make sure when the next game like this comes up we’re better for it, battle better and pull out with a victory,” Edwards said.