Hornets Venom GT Sting 76ers GC in Slam Open Round of 16

Hornets Venom GT, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, had a tough draw in the first round of the Slam Open. In the 2K League’s first ever in-person, three-on-three event, Venom would face 76ers GC, who not only won their group but was also the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference’s first power rankings list.

That being said, Venom were up for the challenge. Having gone 3-3 in group play, Venom experienced flashes of brilliance and frustration alike in their first six matches of three-on-three action. With a lineup of King Haad, Nick, and DJ finalized, Venom were ready to take it to the heavily-favored 76ers.

DJ got going right away in game one. He finished with 11 points on 5/5 shooting from the field while holding opposing big man, DT, to two points on one shot. The guard-lock combination of the 76ers, Dre and UnderRatedGoat, picked up the slack and led Philly to a 21-18 victory.

In games two and three, King Haad had it going on. He torched the 76ers for 26 points and seven assists across the two games. Nick also brought the defense against Dre in games two and three. Nick held the three-on-three MVP-favorite to 11 points and three assists per game, while forcing him to turn the ball over four times and shoot 8/15 from the field and 6/13 from deep. Venom took both of these games with final scores of 22-19 and 22-17, respectively.

Game four looked more like the vintage three-on-three Dre that we are used to seeing. He scored all 21 points for the 76ers and torched Venom single-handedly to the score of 21-11. This meant that the first round matchup would head to an all-important game five.

For Venom, it was a balanced attack in the fifth and final game of this series. King Haad and DJ each brought in nine points, and Nick provided enough scoring (four points) and defense (he had the only steal of the game) to secure the monumental upset win for Venom. With a final score of 22-16, Venom knocked out the East-favorite 76ers in the first round of the Slam Open!

With that huge victory, Venom advance to the quarterfinals where their opponent will be the back-to-back five-on-five champions, Wizards District Gaming, who also won in an impressive five-game effort.