Stout Fourth-Quarter Defense Helps Magic Gaming Pull Away From NetsGC in TIPOFF Group Play

ORLANDO – Often in close games, it’s the team that takes care of the ball down the stretch that prevails. That was certainly true in Wednesday’s TIPOFF group play contest between Magic Gaming and NetsGC.

In the fourth quarter, Brooklyn committed four turnovers, while Orlando had just one en route to its 77-72 victory.

“We just put them in favorable spots to where we can play defense and actually guard it the way we wanted to,” Magic Gaming point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter said. “We started to shrink the court better on (Tariq) “Greens” (Reed), who is obviously a very efficient scorer. Overall, we just picked (it up) and played defense.”

Another key factor was the Magic’s refusal to settle for outside shots. With the Nets sealing off the perimeter, Orlando had no problem attacking the basket and scoring at will on drives and cuts.

Inside the arc, the Magic made 31 of their 33 shot attempts (94 percent). From 3-point range, they went 4-of-10.

“We focus in on being very efficient as a team,” unguardable said. “It’s just a different style of play. If we are efficient, we feel like we can beat anyone.”

Unguardable led Orlando with 27 points and 14 assists, while Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano, one of the Magic’s prized offseason additions, tallied 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Darjean “ReturnOfDJ” Henderson and Justin “Snubby” Stemerman each scored 11 points and rookie sensation Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares had nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Greens paced Brooklyn with 30 points and 10 assists, while NBA 2K League Season One MVP Dayne “OneWildWalnut” Downey finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Magic Gaming has now won two straight after losing their first two of the TIPOFF. In a relatively short period of time, they have made substantial progress on both ends of the floor.

“There’s definitely been improvement,” LowkeyGodlike said. “Us going five out definitely helped. As long as we continue playing as a team, we should have good results.”

UP NEXT: Magic Gaming is back in action on Thursday when they take on Cavs Legion GC at 7 p.m. ET. These two teams squared off in the 5v5 opener last week, with Cleveland winning that meeting 70-63.

HOW TO WATCH: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.