Magic Gaming Falls to Lakers Gaming in SLAM OPEN Grand Finals

The Lead: It was a lengthy day of NBA 2K League basketball for Magic Gaming. Orlando opened the day by falling to Lakers Gaming in the SLAM OPEN winners bracket finals. However, since the 3v3 tournament is double-elimination, Magic Gaming rallied and earned a win over the Gen.G Tigers in the lower bracket to get another crack at Lakers Gaming in the grand finals. While Orlando would win the initial series over L.A., Lakers Gaming would remain alive because they had yet to lose in the tourney. After the bracket reset, L.A. would go on to sweep Orlando.

“I’m absolutely (proud of) the guys (to have made it this far), and it means a lot to the organization, for sure,” said Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards. “Being a highly competitive team has been my goal every day walking in the building. Finally, it feels like we’re in this position … But second is not where we want to be. First is where we want to be.”

Game 1: Magic Gaming opened up their Grand Finals matchup with Lakers Gaming by rolling to a 21-13 victory.

Point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter erupted for a contest-best 12 points, while big man Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano tallied seven points, five rebounds, and two assists. Small forward Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares played sensational defense on electric L.A. point guard Dhwan “ShiftyKaii” White, notching two blocks and one steal.

Game 2: After allowing L.A. to rally back from an early deficit, Orlando found a way to come up with big plays down the stretch. After securing a steal on one end, LowkeyGodlike buried a game-winning jumper on the other to give Magic Gaming a 23-20 win.

Unguardable led Orlando’s offensive charge, recording a contest-best 16 points.

Game 3: While Magic Gaming was hoping for a sweep, Lakers Gaming had other plans. L.A. kept the series alive with a 22-17 victory.

Game 4: Magic Gaming was determined not to let Lakers Gaming get any more momentum. Orlando dismantled L.A. 22-10 on its way to claiming the first series of the Grand Finals, thus forcing a bracket reset.

“We came out and gave them our best punch,” said Edwards. “It’s clear when we’re playing our best ball that we (win) in dominant fashion against the best teams in the league.”

Orlando opened the game on a 14-0 run. LowkeyGodlike played a major role in the offensive onslaught by going 5-for-5 from the floor and exploding for 13 points. Jboolin came up with two steals and held ShiftyKaii scoreless.

Bracket Reset Game 1: In what started as a back-and-forth defensive battle, Lakers Gaming’s offense opened up down the stretch to help L.A. hand Orlando a 23-12 defeat.

Bracket Reset Game 2: Lakers Gaming kept their foot on the gas on their way to a 22-18 triumph. ShiftyKaii poured in 12 points, while small forward Veron “YooVc” Coates added 10 for L.A.

Lowkey Godlike paced Magic Gaming with 11 points.

Bracket Reset Game 3: Unfortunately for Magic Gaming, any hopes of a reverse sweep were dashed as it dropped a 21-14 decision and the series to Lakers Gaming.

MAGIC GAMING’S PATH TO THE GRAND FINALS

First Series of the Day: Magic Gaming Falls to Lakers Gaming in Winners Bracket Finals

 The Lead: This meeting certainly made its case as an early candidate for best series of the season. Unfortunately for Orlando, it came up short in a back-and-forth battle with L.A. as Lakers Gaming claimed the series 3-2. As result of the loss, Orlando would need to take the long path to the Grand Finals.

 Game 1: Power forward Arshia “Krazy” Karimi scored 10 and ShiftyKaii added nine to help Lakers Gaming strike first by handing Magic Gaming a 22-16 defeat.

Game 2: In a scoring duel between two of the league’s top floor generals, it was unguardable who would come out on top in this one. Magic Gaming’s All-Star point guard erupted for a contest-best 19 points to lift Orlando to a 23-20 win over L.A.

ShiftyKaii led Lakers Gaming with 17 points.

Game 3: For a moment, it looked like Magic Gaming was about to rattle off two straight wins. However, ShiftyKaii had other ideas. L.A.’s guard finished with 14 points, including a contest-clinching 3-pointer, to push Lakers Gaming past Magic Gaming 23-21.

Game 4: After not attempting a single triple in Games 2 and 3, LowkeyGodlike took over this one with his shooting. Orlando’s big man buried three of his four attempts from downtown and finished with 13 points, as Magic Gaming rolled past Lakers Gaming on their way to a 21-12 win. 

Game 5: In a high-stakes series like this one, every possession matters. Unfortunately for Orlando, costly turnovers down the stretch proved to be too much to overcome in a 23-18 defeat.

ShiftyKaii fired off 18 points for L.A., while unguardable scored a team-high 10 for Orlando.

 Second Series of the Day: Magic Gaming Sweeps Gen.G Tigers to Advance to SLAM OPEN 3v3 Grand Finals

The Lead: After falling to L.A. in the winners bracket finals, Orlando needed a win over Gen.G. to get a second crack at L.A. and to avoid being eliminated from the SLAM OPEN 3v3 tournament. Magic Gaming made quick work of Gen.G. by sweeping the Tigers and securing a second shot at L.A., this time in the grand finals.

Game 1: In this series, it was Magic Gaming that would strike first. Orlando used a balanced offensive attack to surge past Gen.G for a 23-16 win.

LowkeyGodlike and Jboolin each scored eight, while unguardable notched seven points, six assists, and two steals.

Game 2: Orlando picked up right where it left off as it claimed a 2-0 series lead by throttling Gen.G 22-13.

LowkeyGodlike poured in 12 points, while unguardable added eight.

Game 3: Magic Gaming made it clear from the jump that they were the better team. Orlando completed the sweep by rolling to a 21-10 triumph.

Magic Gaming used their defense to fuel their offense, coming up with a whopping five steals in the outing. Jboolin had three of them, while unguardable nabbed two.

“We bounced back in a really, really strong way,” said Edwards of that win.

Up Next: Magic Gaming will tip off play in the SWITCH OPEN 3v3 tournament on Wednesday against Pistons GT at 7:30 p.m. ET.

How to Watch: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.