Magic Gaming Falters Against Cavs Legion GC in TIPOFF Group Play

ORLANDO – In their 5v5 opener on Wednesday against Wizards District Gaming, Magic Gaming barely missed.

On Thursday, their opponent, Cavs Legion GC, were the ones greening seemingly everything.

After a closely-contested first half – as the Magic trailed by just two at halftime – Cleveland seized control after intermission and cruised to an 84-64 victory.

Leading the attack for the Cavs were their backcourt duo of Antoine “Antoine” Featherstone and Wahid “Faiz” Faiz, who combined to score 62 points and hit 14 3-pointers. As a team, Cleveland shot 66 percent from the field and 55 percent from beyond the arc.

“They ran a particular set and they really milked it,” Magic Gaming General Manager and Head Coach Jonah Edwards said. “It was effective. A lot of times, they got loose on the break. We didn’t foul effectively in transition, kind of just giving their guards a lot of free points – and once they get those free points, they are going, they are feeling good and they are able to work better in the half court. Just have to keep teams to the half court. That’s obvious stuff here that we let get away from us this game.”

Not all went wrong for the Magic, however. For one, they dished out 21 assists, one more than the Cavs, and they committed just three turnovers. Also, point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter had another outstanding performance with 27 points on 10-of-15 overall shooting and 4-of-7 3-point shooting to go along with 11 dimes.

“I feel like I can control the pace of the game,” unguardable said. “I keep defenses on their toes with different variations of cuts, wraps and slips.”

Devin “Scoreo” Lawrence recorded 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists against his former team, while Jarvis “Simptoms” Thompson, who like Scoreo was acquired by Magic Gaming in a trade during the offseason, finished with 13 points.

Orlando will have another quick turnaround as they now get set to take on Knicks Gaming on Friday at 9 p.m.

“Looking at their roster, their backcourt is strong,” Edwards said. “Radiant (Ethan White) and Malik (“OriginalMalik” Hobson), obviously, are probably one of the premier backcourts in the 2K league. They are also a team that gets out on the break. They are going to see our game tonight and I think they are going to see that we were weak defensively in transition and they are going to look to attack it as much as possible. It’s really their MO. Then Stick (Jakari “WhatsStick” Hunt) tries to force a lot of turnovers…I like our chances tomorrow if we keep them in the half (court). I think we are going to be a more prepared, structured team in the half court on both sides of the ball. I certainly think we are the kind of team that can rally from a loss like tonight pretty quickly.”