Magic Gaming Drops a 2-1 Series to Knicks Gaming

ORLANDO – Magic Gaming has been searching for offensive consistency and team resiliency amidst their four-game losing skid.

While Orlando displayed improvement in one of those areas on Tuesday, it was not enough to break the streak as Magic Gaming suffered a 2-1 series defeat to Knicks Gaming.

Game 1 had all the ingredients to set up a tough night. Orlando struggled on both ends of the floor, unable to slow down New York’s dynamic backcourt or find its own offensive rhythm. Point guard Christopher “Duck” Charles, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft, erupted for 41 points to lead four New York players in double figures as Knicks Gaming cruised to an 85-48 victory over Magic Gaming.

“When they get ahead, they’re good at closing games pretty quickly,” Magic Gaming Head Coach Jonah Edwards said. “They get a lot of turnovers, they get a lot of threes at pretty high volume, so if you let them play their pace, let them dictate the tone, they’re going to run rampant on you.”

But instead of a Game 2 hangover, Orlando put its renewed resiliency on display and bounced back with a hard-fought victory. Down five heading into the fourth quarter, Magic Gaming outscored Knicks Gaming 20-10 in the final frame to secure a 65-60 win.

Brendan “Reizey” Hill responded back from a four-point performance in Game 1 with a 27-point effort. Reizey scored eight of those in the fourth, while Daniel “djbama” Burge poured in six of his 11 points in the closing quarter.

“We knew if we didn’t let them get off to such a hot start, we could really slow them down in a second half,” Edwards explained. “Obviously, we had a big fourth quarter and Reid came up with some big shots and was finally able to green a few down the stretch.”

Robert “May” May came up with a game-sealing offensive rebound with 10 seconds left and finished the contest with 11 points and 15 boards.

Unfortunately for Orlando, the momentum did not carry over into Game 3.

Duck fired off 36 points and Malik “OriginalMalik” Hobson scored 27 as New York took the series with a 76-54 Game 3 victory.

“When (Duck) is going early and Malik is going early, they’re so deadly,” Edwards said.

Reizey scored 23, but struggled from the 3-point line, going 3-for-16 from beyond the arc. On the night, he was just 6-for-32 from distance.

May delivered his third double-double of the series with 11 points and 16 rebounds to go along with four blocks.

“Robbie is pretty dang reliable,” Edwards said. “You know what you’re going to get out of him every game.”

Magic Gaming returns to action on Friday when they face Kings Guard Gaming at 7 p.m. ET.

“They’re unique defensively, so we’re going to have to prepare for that with them,” Edwards said. “Truly, they’re the only team in the league that has their power forward guard pick-and-roll in their base defensive set. We’ll be back at practice tomorrow, looking at film, preparing for them, getting back at it and looking to turn it around.”

The matchup will be broadcasted on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch (@NBA2kLeague) and YouTube (@NBA2kLeague) channels.