Anthony Black Reveals Reason For Magic's Fast Start in NBA 2K Summer League

Anthony Black and the Orlando Magic opened the NBA 2K Summer League with a 106-79 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) dribbles the ball against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic hit the ground running in their NBA 2K25 Summer League opener in Las Vegas, rolling past the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-79 on Friday at the Pavilion.

The trio of Anthony Black, Jett Howard and Tristan da Silva were at the center of the 27-point blowout victory, combining for 55 points and 11 assists. Black credited the team's smarts and how they're beginning to hit their stride as a unit for their performance in the opening game of the summer league.

"I think because of how smart this team is," Black said. "I know our group out there, we started playing a lot more smoothly on days three and four of training camp, so we're all starting to get a feel for each other. We're getting good looks for each other. Our degree of difficulty to most of our shots is pretty low. We're definitely just playing good basketball all around and we're having fun."

Orlando shot 47.4 percent from the field and was 14 of 37 on its 3-point attempts. The Magic led by double-digits for most of the game, as they were up by as many as 20 points in the first quarter and saw their lead balloon to as many as 35 in the fourth.

For Magic summer league coach Lionel Chalmers, he believes his team's stellar first game was because of their understanding of their goals and ability to connect on and off the court.

"They understand what we're trying to do," Chalmers said. "They have done a great job of being together even outside of the game [and] outside of practice. I give credit to us for making sure everyone's included and we do this together."

Orlando will look to keep its momentum going on Sunday when it faces the New Orleans Pelicans at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Pavilion. The Pelicans lost their first game to the Minnesota Timberwolves 81-74 on Friday.

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