Hornets Venom GT Starts 2021 2KL Regular Season by Sweeping Hawks Talon GC

Sherm Double-Doubles Twice; Rookies Rigby, Crown Both Score 20+ PTS in Regular Season Debuts

By Sam Perley

Hornets Venom GT kicked off its 2021 NBA 2K League regular season schedule in winning fashion on Thursday night, knocking off Hawks Talon GC in both road contests to claim a perfect 2-0 start to its second campaign.

Charlotte held a two-point lead after the first six minutes of Game 1, then opened the second quarter on a 16-4 run and eventually entered halftime with an 11-point advantage. The visitors notched a second consecutive 23-point quarter in the third and cruised to an 85-71 season-opening victory, a scoring output that matched the largest single-game total in team history.

Point guard Justin “Sherm” Sherman double-doubled with 20 points and 10 assists, while rookie shooting guard Craig “rigby” Burnett Jr. (22 points, nine assists) and rookie power forward Kingsley “Crown” Braggs (20 points; 5-of-6 from three) both had 20-point games in their 2KL regular season debuts. Guard Cesar “Ceez” Martinez had a double-double for Hawks Talon in the loss, finishing with 35 points on 14-of-20 shooting, 10 assists and five turnovers.

Nothing but 🟢 for @TopTierCrown in the corner! pic.twitter.com/3WwYd5Tle2

— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) May 28, 2021

Game 2 looked like it was going to be more of the same as Charlotte built up another big second-half lead before Hawks Talon rallied to get within four with 1:05 remaining. After both teams exchanged dunks, Hornets Venom burned off the entire shot clock, then retained possession when Sherm’s missed three ricocheted out of bounds off a Hawks Talon player with 13 seconds left. Two Sherm free throws and an ensuing Atlanta turnover iced the 71-65 win.

Rigby (25 points on 6-of-11 from three; 17 first-quarter points) and PeteBeBallin (21 points) both had 20-point showings in Game 2, Sherm double-doubled again (16 points and 13 assists – highest regular season total in team history) and lock Gio “Trap” Elizondo chipped in seven points and three steals. Hawks Talon two-guard Mykel “Kel” Wilson scored 29 points and center Levi “Lee” Lamb had 13 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and seven turnovers in the loss.

The rook is cookin'!!! 🍳@RigbyCB w/ 17 Q1 PTS #LetsGo2KL pic.twitter.com/Wp92B874JF

— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) May 28, 2021

Charlotte finished the night having connected on a combined 25-of-43 three-point attempts (58%), with its 15 three-pointers in Game 1 also surpassing the highest single-game total from any 2020 regular season outing. The squad also committed just eight turnovers across both contests after averaging just under eight per game in last week’s THE TIPOFF Tournament.

Hornets Venom GT will be back in action for a pair of home games against Heat Check Gaming on Thursday, June 3 beginning at 8 PM EST. Catch the action on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.