Magic Gaming Stays Hot, Sweeps Hornets Venom GT in 3v3 Seed Week Action

The Lead

Playing with some extra swag the last few weeks, Magic Gaming set out to do two things during “seed week” action on both the 5v5 and 3v3 modes. One of them was to build momentum for THE TICKET and THE STEAL. The other was to play spoiler. They’ve done a little bit of both these last couple weeks, including on Wednesday when they swept Hornets Venom GT, which coming into the series sat just below the playoff line on the 3v3 side.

Game 1

Joshua “unguardable” Hunter picked up right where he left off from Tuesday’s performance against Heat Check Gaming. The rookie guard, acquired several weeks ago from Portland as part of a blockbuster four-team trade, erupted for 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall and 4-of-7 from 3-point range in Magic Gaming’s 22-11 Game 1 victory. Matthew “Matty” Grant’s dunk sealed it. Hornets Venom GT made just one of their four 3-point tries.

Game 2

Down a point midway through, the Magic closed Game 2 with 10 unanswered points to secure a 21-12 win. Unguardable, who hit the game-clinching three, finished with 12 points, while Robert “May” May posted six points and three rebounds. Orlando connected on eight of their 10 shots from the field, including five of their seven from beyond the arc.

Game 3

Even though they ultimately won Tuesday’s series against the Heat, the Magic thought they should have swept them rather than it go the distance. Determined to not let the same thing happen this time around, Orlando slammed on the accelerator and never took their feet off it, cruising to a 21-7 victory to pull off the series sweep. Unguardable stayed hot with 15 points, while May made all three of his shots and finished with six points, five rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Key Stat

The Magic held the Hornets to just 4-of-11 3-point shooting in the series.

Quotes of the Night

“I just think in general, you can kind of tell the kind of team we are going to be based on the vibe in the room going into the game, and when it’s like that we have to make a certain emphasis on prioritizing our focus level as we lead into games. Tonight, just everyone in the room was much sharper. There was just more focus around the room. When it’s like that, we are going to play a little better.” – Magic Gaming General Manager and Head Coach Jonah Edwards

“Matty and May are really easy to get along with and they are hard workers, so naturally you want to work hard when you see other people working hard. So I feel like getting along with them was just bound to happen.” – Unguardable

Up Next

Magic Gaming will have three more 3v3 seed games next week, starting with a showdown against Hawks Talon GC on Tuesday, July 26 at 8 p.m. Atlanta clinched a postseason berth on Wednesday with a series victory over Knicks Gaming. In the Game 4 clincher, Caesar “Ceez” Martinez scored the Hawks’ first 18 points and Bryson “Putback” Fleming drilled the series-sealing 3-pointer off a dish from Ceez. Orlando’s other two opponents will be against Cavs Legion GC, who also won Wednesday, and Pistons GT. Cleveland is currently just one point behind Lakers Gaming for fifth in the West, while Detroit is tied with DUX Infinitos for second place.