Hornets Venom GT Crushes Raptors Uprising GC, Moves to 5-1 on 2KL Season

Rigby, Crown, Trap All Score Season Highs; Charlotte Sets 3 Franchise Records in Game 2 Win 

By Sam Perley

Hornets Venom GT closed out a busy Week 2 of the NBA 2K League regular season in absolutely dominant fashion, knocking off Raptors Uprising GC by a combined 50 points across a pair of victories on Saturday night.

Facing off for the first time since the 2020 2K League Playoff Quarterfinals, Charlotte pieced together a 12-point first-half lead in Game 1 before Toronto rallied late in the second quarter to enter halftime down 38-32. Hornets Venom recaptured its double-digit advantage with a 11-4 run to open the third and would ultimately cruise to a comfortable 74-56 win.

.@Sherm2x threading the needle to @RigbyCB 🪡

54-43 lead heading to Q4 ➡️ pic.twitter.com/zumcop1A2V

— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) June 6, 2021

Guards CJ “rigby” Burnett (24 points) and Justin “Sherm” Sherman (19) led the way for the visitors in Game 1, with the latter also tacking on 13 assists to his statline. Center Peter “PeteBeBallin” Malin double-doubled with 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting and 12 rebounds (nine offensive), while Raptors Uprising got a team-high 19 points at the sharpshooter position from former point guard and 2020 2KL League MVP Kenneth “Kenny Got Work” Hailey.

Things only got better from there as Charlotte raced out to a 23-4 lead in Game 2, paving the way for a 47-19 advantage by the break. Hornets Venom’s sensational two-way play carried over into the final 12 minutes with the team going on to establish new franchise records for largest margin of victory (32) and highest single-game point total (90) in the 90-58 decision.

Rigby (season-high 27 points), Sherm (23 and nine assists) and forward Kingsley “Crown” Braggs (season-high 22) all crossed the 20-point barrier in the triumph. Lock Gio “Trap” Elizondo was also in double figures with a season-best 10 points and PeteBeBallin added eight points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Toronto – which remained winless after going 32-4 last year – got 15-point showings from both Kenny Got Work (16) and former Hornets Venom center Xavier “Type” Vescovi (15).

.@RigbyCB from the red upside down V!!! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/yGf69YByPX

— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) June 6, 2021

Charlotte committed just six total turnovers on the night – three in each contest – and connected on 28-of-49 three-point attempts (57.1%). The team’s 17 Game 2 triples were also a new franchise record, breaking the previous mark of 15 set just last week against Hawks Talon GC.

Hornets Venom GT will return to the court for two home contests against Mavs Gaming on Wednesday, June 9 beginning at 9 PM EST. Catch all the action on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.