Magic Gaming Goes 2-2 in Pool Play of TIPOFF
June 16, 2020
ORLANDO – Magic Gaming exchanged wins with both of their Group 4 opponents, Hawks Talon GC and Kings Guard Gaming, during pool play of THE TIPOFF, the first of three in-season NBA 2K League tournaments. Orlando now awaits the outcome of the two games between Atlanta and Sacramento to find out whether or not they will advance to the next round.
Game 1: Magic Gaming 58, Hawks Talon GC 52 – Orlando opened up THE TIPOFF by putting its renewed resiliency on full display with a hard-fought victory over Atlanta. Magic Gaming battled through several stream delays down the stretch and managed to outscore Atlanta 15-8 in the fourth quarter.
Robert “May” May continued to live up to his nickname of ‘Big Play May’ by grabbing a key offensive rebound, maintaining possession through contact, and subsequently knocking down two game-sealing free throws with 12.3 seconds left. He finished the game with 10 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Brendan “Reizey” Hill carried the offense, scoring eight of his 25 points in the final frame. Brandon “ToXsiK” Raudenbush did his share on both ends of the floor, tallying 10 points, three assists and four steals. He also did an admirable job as the team’s lockdown defender, limiting Michael “BP” Diaz-Cruz to a 3-for-11 shooting performance from distance. – Savage
Game 2: Hawks Talon GC 71, Magic Gaming 52 – After a balanced effort in Game 1, Orlando struggled to find its offensive rhythm as well as limit Atlanta’s offensive efficiency in Game 2.
Hawks Talon GC point guard BP bounced back in a big way, knocking down six of his 12 three-point attempts on his way to a 26-point, nine-assist contest.
Reizey was the lone Magic Gaming player to eclipse double-digits, scoring 23, but ball-security issues plagued him throughout the game as he turned it over seven times. – Savage
Game 3: Magic Gaming 61, Kings Guard Gaming 55: Just like in Games 1 and 3 of their regular season series victory over the Kings last week, a strong fourth quarter propelled the Magic to a win in this contest.
A dunk from May, a 3-pointer and driving layup from Reizey and a corner triple from Alex “Profusion” Snowden in the final two-plus minutes helped Orlando pull away down the stretch.
Back at point guard in this tournament after playing shooting guard in the series against Sacramento last Thursday, Reizey posted 27 points and nine assists while ToXsiK scored 11 on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field with three of those made shots coming from beyond the arc. – Cohen
Game 4: Kings Guard Gaming 78, Magic Gaming 41: One of the tournament’s top performers on the first night of pool play was Reizey, who eclipsed 20 points in all four of Orlando’s games. In the Magic’s finale, he erupted for 27 points on 11-of-26 shooting. It wasn’t enough in this contest, however, as the Kings jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back.
Reizey’s counterpart, Matthew “Bash” Robles, was also terrific, finishing with 36 points in the Kings’ win. Sacramento drilled nine triples, while Orlando made only four of them.
May, one of the league’s best rebounders since becoming the Magic’s center a couple weeks ago, pulled down 15 boards in this game. – Cohen
TIPOFF Details: THE TIPOFF Tournament is a four-day tournament that culminates in a championship matchup on Friday. All 23 teams will compete in the tournament remotely from their local markets for a total prize pool of $160,000 (USD).
The first of three in-season tournaments, THE TIPOFF features two days of pool play on June 16 and 17 to determine the eight teams that advance to the playoffs on June 18 and 19. At the conclusion of pool play, the seven teams with the best records in each group as well as one wild card entrant will advance to the playoffs, with the following tiebreaker scenarios applying if needed:
Winning percentage within group of pool play rounds
Head-to-head record within group
Average points differential within group
Average points scored within group
Technical fouls accumulated throughout the NBA 2K League regular season
Random draw
Each team will play four games in pool play, competing against up to three other teams in its group twice. Below are the teams that make up the seven groups:
Group 1: 76ers GC, NetsGC, Pistons GT
Group 2: Celtics Crossover Gaming, Jazz Gaming, Mavs Gaming
Group 3: Grizz Gaming, Pacers Gaming, Warriors Gaming Squad
Group 4: Hawks Talon GC, Kings Guard Gaming, Magic Gaming
Group 5: Bucks Gaming, Heat Check Gaming, Knicks Gaming
Group 6: Blazer5 Gaming, Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, Lakers Gaming, Raptors Uprising GC
Group 7: Cavs Legion GC, Hornets Venom GT, T-Wolves Gaming, Wizards District Gaming
All games will air live on ESPN2, ESPN’s digital platform and the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.