Magic Gaming Dominates Hawks Talon GC in In-Person TURN Matchup at leAD Lake Nona

It was a special day at the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Accelerator for Magic Gaming’s second home in-person game of the season.

There was plenty of pregame entertainment, a lively atmosphere, and Orlando put the cherry on top by delivering a phenomenal performance to the Magic Gaming faithful.

Four Orlando players scored in double figures as Magic Gaming rolled to a 96-57 victory over Hawks Talon GC on Saturday afternoon in NBA 2K League 5v5 TURN group play action.

“It was huge for us to have a victory like this,” said Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards. “We were on the cusp of it a couple of times this (5v5) season, and just haven’t hit our open shots and knocked down shots in big moments. In the second half, everything just clicked.”

At first, it looked like this game would be over early. The crowd at the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Accelerator erupted with applause as center Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano closed out the first quarter with an emphatic fastbreak slam to give Magic Gaming a 10-point lead.

However, Hawks Talon GC would not go down quietly. Atlanta shooting guard MarkDavid “MDS” Smith scored 12 of high contest-best 19 first-half points in the second quarter to help his squad take a one-point lead into halftime.

But after the break, it was all Magic Gaming. Orlando opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run and never looked back as it outscored Atlanta by 40 points in the second half.

“On offense, we were pretty much flawless,” said Magic small forward Justin “Snubby” Stemerman, who finished with 21 points. “We were making no mistakes.”

Shooting guard Emmanuel “FantaSZN” Gosman, who was traded to Orlando earlier in the week, led all scorers with 32 points, while going a scorching 8-for-13 from 3-point range.

Point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter added 20 points and 11 assists, power forward Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares tallied 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, and LowkeyGodlike notched six points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists.

“The gravity that (LowkeyGodlike) has on the court … is like a black hole,” said FantaSZN of the 3v3 MVP finalist. “He just pulls people towards him and everything else just opens up … Everybody is just so capable … I love this team, honestly.”

The victory was a huge one for Orlando, which needs to make bracket play of THE TURN to earn a 5v5 playoff berth. It was also special because it was able to earn the triumph on its home floor in front of fans, family, and friends at the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Accelerator.

“We haven’t won at home,” said Edwards. “To finally get our first win at home just feels really good. There’s a lot of work that goes into this from a lot of people on the Magic Gaming and Orlando Magic staff. It means a lot to see it come to fruition with a victory. It means a lot to me.”

Up Next: Magic Gaming returns to TURN group play action on Wednesday when they take on Nets GC at 6 p.m. ET. Orlando is currently 2-1 in the tournament and would likely advance to bracket play with a strong showing next week.

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