Magic Gaming Swept by Heat Check Gaming in In-Person Group Play Matchup

The Lead: There’s nothing quite like in-person play in the NBA 2K League. Between the smack talk, energy from the crowd, and competitive play, the environment makes for a spectacular setting. The setup for Magic Gaming’s matchup with Heat Check Gaming on Saturday certainly fit that bill. With the contest being held in the Disney Atrium at Kia Center prior to the Orlando Magic’s home game against the Sacramento Kings, thousands of fans were able to catch a glimpse of 2KL action in person. Everything appeared primed for a perfect night of SWITCH OPEN 3v3 group play. Unfortunately for the Orlando faithful, despite the beautiful backdrop, Magic Gaming dropped three straight games to Heat Check Gaming.

 Game 1: A staple of Magic Gaming’s success early in this season has been starting off strong. That was not the case for Orlando in this one. Magic Gaming was unable to convert down the stretch in the opener and dropped a 22-20 decision to Heat Check Gaming.

Miami floor general KyJuan “HoodieKy” Johnson poured in a team-high nine points, including the game-winning 3-pointer.

Point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter led Orlando with a contest-best 12 points.

“Shaky offense down the stretch to close was really the difference,” said Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards. “We have to close those games out … If we close that game out, I think the entire series goes differently.”

Game 2: After knocking down a game-winning bucket in the opener, HoodieKy had momentum in his favor. The Heat Check Gaming point guard exploded for a series-best 18 points in the subsequent matchup to help Miami roll past Orlando 22-11.

Game 3: It’s extremely difficult to climb out of deep holes in 3v3 action. That was the case for Magic Gaming, who watched Heat Check Gaming jump out to an early 10-2 lead. Despite a valiant comeback effort, Orlando fell to Miami 21-14.

HoodieKy poured in 11 points, while lockdown Matthew “Matty” Grant, who spent the last two seasons with Magic Gaming, added eight points and two rebounds against his former club.

Unguardable scored nine, while big man Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano added five points and four rebounds for Orlando.

Quote to Note: “It’s awesome to be able to host local games. To be here at Kia Center and partnering with Full Sail to do it – they did an awesome job on the broadcast. We had a blast setting everything up and getting everything going. We’ll have another one down in Lake Nona on June 1. It’s awesome to host these for sure.” – Edwards

Up Next: Magic Gaming will tip off SLAM OPEN 3v3 bracket play next week. The opponent, date, and time are still TBD.

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