Unguardable Shows Flashes in Debut, But Magic Gaming’s SWITCH OPEN Run Ends with Loss to Knicks Gaming

The Lead: 

With Magic Gaming unable to advance in the SWITCH OPEN regardless of this game’s outcome, the contest was all about seeing how prized recent acquisition Joshua “Unguardable” Hunter could fit in with his new team and getting an idea of how a 3v3 lineup would look with the dynamic guard running the show. Although it wasn’t perfect, Unguardable and Magic Gaming showed flashes of a formidable 3v3 unit in Friday night’s series with Knicks Gaming that went the distance.

Game 1: 

It would be foolish to imagine that even an offensive force as impactful as Unguardable would seamlessly fit into a new lineup less than 48 hours after arriving in Orlando. Such was the case in the series opener as Magic Gaming’s offense sputtered at various stretches in a 22-15 loss to Knicks Gaming.

Unguardable posted eight points and three assists, while Matthew “Matty” Grant had seven points and two rebounds for Orlando.

Anthony “Ant SZN” Costanzo and Jakari “Whats Stick” Hunt each posted 10 points for New York.

Game 2: 

Unguardable lived up to his moniker in the final possession of this contest. Trailing by one and needing a triple to secure a victory, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NBA 2K League Draft shook off a defender and created space for a game-winning 3-pointer to lift Orlando to a 23-21 thrilling triumph over New York.

Unguardable finished with 10 points and four assists, Matty scored seven, and Robert “May” May had six points and four rebounds.

Game 3: 

For the second straight game, an Unguardable triple put an end to the contest. The dynamic guard’s final 3-pointer secured Magic Gaming’s 22-16 victory over Knicks Gaming.

Matty fired off 10 points, while Unguardable finished with nine points and five assists.

Game 4: 

New York switched up its lineup for game four, inserting Malik “OriginalMalik” Hobson and Kerry “Kerry” Thompson in place of Ant SZN and Ludlow “Glo” Samuels. The move paid off. Kerry erupted for a game-high 14 points and OriginalMalik knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer in Knicks Gaming’s 21-19 victory over Magic Gaming.

Unguardable led Orlando with 11 points and three assists, while Matty had six points and two rebounds.

Game 5: 

Magic Gaming has been able to take a number of 3v3 series the distance this season but has been unable to close them out. Unfortunately for Orlando, this one was no different. Behind a 12-point effort from OriginalMalik, Knicks Gaming handed Magic Gaming a 22-15 defeat.

Unguardable led Orlando with 10 points in the series finale. Orlando fell to 0-6 on the season in game fives.

“We think we can be good at 3v3s, but the past few days (knowing we were eliminated from the SWITCH OPEN) we focused primarily on 5v5s and will continue to over the next couple of weeks as we gear into seed weeks,” said Magic Gaming General Manager and Head Coach Jonah Edwards. “I was really upset at the end of the game because it’s obviously wearing on me. We don’t want to be 0-6 in these game fives. It’s nothing to do with this room. No environment issues. It’s one of those things that’s kind of happened that way.”

Quotes to Note: 

“It’s definitely been an experience and it’s definitely been something that I am happy to be a part of. It’s just all new. I finally got a new start from a season that’s been a lot different than what I expected.” – Unguardable on joining Magic Gaming

“He’s going to come in and score the ball for us, there’s no question. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s probably the most skilled player that maybe Magic Gaming has ever had as far as his ability to move with the ball and create for himself. So, he’s very good at that and I thought he was really good tonight overall.” – Edwards on Unguardable