It’s ironic that in a game between Magic Gaming and Grizz Gaming, two teams still in the hunt for a playoff spot, it was Celtics Crossover Gaming who would see their playoff positioning secured. That’s thanks to the Grizz picking up a critical 58-45 win over the Magic to begin the final Thursday of regular-season action in the NBA 2K League 2019 season.

Grizz’s victory did a lot to boost their playoff possibilities too, but finishing the season at 9-7, this is likely a bigger deal for Magic Gaming, who still have one more game to play Thursday but have effectively lost the tiebreaker to Memphis and as a result, are out of the playoff hunt.

What’s worse, the loss could be traced back to a trade the team made earlier in the season with this same Grizz Gaming squad, as Thursday’s Intel Player of the Game winner, KelMav, was formally drafted by Magic Gaming only to be moved in the deadline deal that netted ToXsiK. It was obvious KelMav was motivated to dominate his previous team and while his box score wasn’t exactly stuffed (14 points on 5-of-11 from the field) every basket seemed to be a critical one.

Grizz Gaming boasted a 27-17 lead at halftime – a deficit that Magic Gaming could never quite conquer despite whittling it down to two possessions on multiple occasions in the second half – but that opening lead was only made possible thanks to a stunning 17-3 second-quarter run. Orlando would make the margin slightly manageable in the final few minutes of the second quarter, but Grizz Gaming was essentially able to ride the heroics of point guard Vandi, the aforementioned KelMav and center AuthenticAfrican onward, with the trio each finishing with double-digit points.

Magic Gaming didn’t just lose an opportunity at a playoff spot – they also likely saw star rookie point guard Reizy’s MVP bid slip away. While it was arguably a longshot to begin with, it was possible Reizy could garner major consideration for the award, but a 13-point, six-assist outing won’t cut it, particularly with eight turnovers that seemed to all come at the worst time possible. Power forward DT kept Magic Gaming in the hunt with 21 points, but the rest of the squad failed to show up when it mattered most as the rest of the roster made just 11 shots from the field in the loss.