HORNETS VENOM GT MOVES TO 2-0 WITH SWEEP OF 76ERS GC

Type Puts on Dominant Display; Defense Keys Back-to-Back Blowout Victories

Hornets Venom GT made it consecutive wins to open its inaugural 2020 NBA 2K League season, taking down 76ers GC, 2-0, in their best-of-three series on Friday, May 8.

Playing its first home game in team history, Hornets Venom GT kicked off Game 1 against the reigning 2K League Finalists by compiling a 50-30 halftime advantage thanks to 31 combined points from guard Alex ‘Expose’ Whelan (17) and center Xavier ‘Type’ Vescovi (14). The lead grew to over 30 in the second half and Hornets Venom GT coasted to an easy 85-56 win.

Expose finished with a team-high 25 points in the contest and Type narrowly missed his second straight triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, four steals and three blocks. Guard Justin ‘Snubby’ Stemerman (17 points) and forward Zaeya ‘Zae’ Ishak (12 points) also scored in double figures and forward Gio ‘Trap’ Elizondo chipped in seven points and six steals.

Steals on steals on steals on steals! 👀

This @HornetsVenomGT defense is outrageous right now.

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Point guard Ethan ‘Radiant’ White – a 2019 MVP Finalist – double-doubled for 76ers GC in Game 1, finishing with 24 points and 10 assists, but also committed a costly 10 turnovers. Center Alexander ‘Steez’ Bernstein racked up 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and forward Rashann ‘Scretty’ Perry also scored in double figures with 11 points (3-of-4 from three).

Following a nearly two-hour delay after the conclusion of Game 1 because of a technical issue, Hornets Venom GT showed little signs of rust in racing out to a 18-8 lead after the first quarter in Game 2. The cushion reached double digits by the break and only continued to grow as the hosts rolled to another impressive 73-46 victory to take the series.

Type amassed an astounding 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, 14 rebounds, five assists, eight steals and four blocks in the clincher, cementing himself as a finalist for the NBA 2K League Player of the Week Award. Snubby (20), Expose (12) and Zae (10) had double-digit scoring performances again and Trap added another nine points and swiped six steals.

🚫 @type's out here doing Type things. 🚫

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Steez led 76ers GC with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in the Game 2 loss. Radiant struggled again, tallying just 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting, nine assists and another 13 turnovers. The visitors totaled 34 giveaways across both outings and were outrebounded by a total margin of 43-23.

Hornets Venom GT will look to keep its perfect record intact on Thursday, May 14 in a home showdown with Raptors Uprising GC starting at 7 PM EST. Catch all the action on Twitch.tv/2KLeague, ESPN.com or YouTube Gaming.

 by Sam Perley