Shorthanded Magic Gaming Drop 3-2 Series to Dreamshakers
June 22, 2022
The Lead:
After shaking up the roster earlier in the day by acquiring guard Joshua “Unguardable” Hunter and a future second round pick from Blazer5 Gaming, guard Wesley “Gen” McNair from Jazz Gaming, and a future second round selection from Pacers Gaming, Magic Gaming was left shorthanded for their 3v3 SWITCH OPEN series matchup with Dreamshakers on Wednesday night. With their two new players unable to participate, and point guard Christopher “Duck” Charles on his way to Utah and Blaine “BigReign” Wilson headed to Indiana as part of the deal, Orlando was unable to defeat a team it had swept one week earlier. As a result, Magic Gaming was mathematically eliminated from being eligible to advance to in-person bracket play in the SWITCH OPEN.
Game 1:
In these first-to-21 3v3 games, 3-point shooting is so vital. Unfortunately for Magic Gaming, it struggled to find a rhythm behind the arc in the series opener. Orlando was unable to knock down a single triple in a 21-14 loss to Dreamshakers.
Small forward Matthew “Matty” Grant and center Robert “May” May each scored six points for Orlando. Dreamshakers point guard CBFW_c fired off a contest-best 13 points.
Game 2:
Offense was once again at a premium for Orlando in the second contest of the series. Magic Gaming fell behind early and was unable to recover in a 22-10 defeat.
CBFW_c again led all scorers with nine points to go along with four assists, and small forward Badge Plug added eight points for Dreamshakers.
Justin “Snubby” Stemerman and Matty, both on shooting guard builds, each scored five for Orlando.
Game 3:
Facing a series sweep, Matty came up with a huge play for Orlando to keep its night alive. The 2K League veteran swiped the ball from CBFW_c and knocked down a transition triple on the other end to give Magic Gaming a 21-19 victory over Dreamshakers.
May racked up 10 points, while Snubby tallied eight points and five assists.
Game 4:
Magic Gaming jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a commanding 21-5 triumph over Dreamshakers.
Snubby erupted for a game-high 12 points, while May stuffed the stat sheet with six points, six boards, three assists, four steals, and one block.
Game 5:
After a relatively quiet offensive night, including a contest where he failed to register a single point, Dreamshakers’ TheReaIDario exploded in the series finale. The amateur team center posted 16 points while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor to lift Dreamshakers to a 21-14 win and clinch the series.
May led Orlando with eight points and two rebounds.
Quote to Note:
“We’ll see a different lineup on Friday night against the Knicks. At this point, we won’t be making it to Indy next week (for in-person bracket play), which is really, really disappointing. We’re still going to attempt to win that game and kind of spoil the Knicks’ season.” – Magic Gaming General Manager and Head Coach Jonah Edwards
Up Next:
It’s possible we’ll see one, if not two of Orlando’s new additions in the lineup on Friday night when Magic Gaming faces Knicks Gaming at 7 p.m. ET. While the contest won’t matter for Orlando in terms of advancing in the tournament, it will be an opportunity to see if either Unguardable and/or Gen, who are huge offensive threats, can provide an instant boost to Magic Gaming’s 3v3 lineup.
How to Watch:
Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Games will also be available on Dash Radio, eGG Network in Southeast Asia, Loco in India, and Sport1 in Europe.