Magic Gaming Drops a Pair to Pacers Gaming

ORLANDO – On Wednesday night, previously unbeaten Pacers Gaming lost a pair of games to previously winless Cavs Legion GC. Those defeats, a surprise to much of the NBA 2K League community, appeared to light a fire under Indiana, which came out eager to put those losses behind them against Magic Gaming. Led by Enrique “630” Xavier Barraza, the Pacers (8-2) completed a series sweep against Orlando (4-4) on Thursday.

Game 1: Pacers Gaming took control early and maintained momentum most of the way in their 78-63 victory. The early season frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year Award, 630, led Indiana with 34 points and nine assists, while NBA 2K League veteran center Jomar “Jomar” Varela Escapa recorded 16 points and 16 rebounds.

The one stretch that favored Orlando came on the periphery of halftime. Brendan “Reizey” Hill knocked down a 3-pointer and Robert “May’ May had a dunk in the final minute before intermission and then immediately after the break Josue “FutureClutch” Acosta Gomez sank a triple following a steal to cut Magic Gaming’s deficit to nine.

However, they weren’t able to slice into that deficit further as the Pacers slammed on the accelerator to put the game out of reach for Orlando to make a full comeback.

Indiana dominated on the glass with a 23-16 rebounding advantage and they forced Orlando into nine turnovers.

“First I would definitely give credit to 630. I thought he controlled the game well, even when we played good defense on him. It was just better offense,” said May, who recorded 10 points and nine rebounds. “Also, I think rebounds were an issue. Third quarter we finally started to make our run and I feel like me and DT (Daniel Tlais) were in good position a lot for defensive rebounds and it went their way. It was unlucky sometimes and that happens obviously and you just have to live with the results.”

Reizey led the Magic with 26 points, while FutureClutch chipped in with 12, Justin “Snubby” Stemerman had eight and DT had seven points to go along with seven rebounds.

Game 2: Magic Gaming just couldn’t buy a bucket in the fourth quarter. After rallying late in the third to take the lead going into the final frame, Orlando struggled to stay in rhythm and as a result fell 76-63.

That wasn’t the case for Pacers Gaming, which got red-hot down the stretch. Nicolas “Swizurk” Grech scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth and 630 had 10 of his 27 in that period, which favored Indiana 24-9.

“They hit I want to say three yellow contests, which are pretty decent contests in that fourth quarter,” Magic Gaming General Manager/Head Coach Jonah Edwards said. “We have to be better for those moments, fighting through that. That’s a game we win maybe two weeks ago…I still think we could have executed a lot better down the stretch. There’s no excuse. Obviously, we gave up those shots. They are tough shots, but they still hit them and that’s part of the game.”

Orlando did a much better job in the rebounding department in this contest compared to the opener. May pulled down 15 of his team’s 21 boards, while DT had five of them and FutureClutch secured one.

Reizey scored 19 points, while May tallied 18 and Snubby finished with 11.

Stat of the Night

In the two games combined against Pacers Gaming, May shot 13-of-17 from the field. Going into Thursday’s action, the Magic Gaming center ranked in the top five in field goal percentage in the NBA 2K League.

Up Next

Magic Gaming will look to bounce back when they take on familiar foe and rival Heat Check Gaming on Saturday. The action begins at 9 p.m. Miami played against Lakers Gaming at the same time Orlando and Indiana were squaring off and cruised to a pair of victories.

Against his former team, Sten “Sav” Valge-Saar had 34 points and 15 assists in the opener and 32 and 19 in the finale. The Heat, who improved to 3-7 in the regular season, combined to score 187 points in the series against L.A.

“They have guys that have been around for a while and very, very aggressive guys that are willing to make plays. And obviously a couple guys that are hungry in their backcourt in Sav and Killeyy (Brian Diaz),” Edwards said. “We are going to really have to be at our best on Saturday. Obviously, it’s a rivalry game for us and we take those games seriously. So, we absolutely will be looking to come out on top.”