Raptors Uprising advance at The Ticket; To face Celtics Crossover Gaming in Round of 16

Kenny Got Work’s game-high 23 points helped Toronto’s Raptors Uprising GC hold off Lakers Gaming (54-50) to advance to the next round of The Ticket in Orlando, FlA — and move one step closer to clinching a berth in the NBA 2K League playoffs.

The Raptors Uprising’s veteran has now taken over in back-to-back games after coming off a 22-point, eight assist effort to close out Week 8 against Pacers Gaming. Lining up for the second straight game as a sharpshooting playmaker at point guard, Kenny Got Work was aggressive from the get-go, finishing with nine of his 23 points from beyond the arc en route to an eight-of-13 shooting night from the floor.

“Kenny Got Work controls the pace of the game very well,” said Raptors Uprising Coach Ognjen Micic on his team leader after the win. “He takes calculated risks — and the scary part is that he’s just starting to get comfortable.”

While it seemed Raptors Uprising (5-6) were ready to look ahead to their upcoming opponents Celtics Crossover Gaming tomorrow after jumping out to a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, expansion side Lakers Gaming (2-9) weren’t going to go away quietly, with their season on the line.

Small forward Kev’s 21 points down the stretch kept the team from L.A. in this one. But with under a minute to play and the lead cut down to within four points, Toronto centre Sick x 973 made a ruthless 20-foot jumper from just within the three-point line to put Raptors Uprising back up by six and put an end to yet another valiant Lakers Gaming comeback attempt.

The Raptors Uprising second-year pro has been ever so consistent since arriving from Cavs Legion GC via trade prior to Week 5, and in Thursday’s single-elimination game against Lakers Gaming, it was no different. The New Jersey-native finished the win chipping in with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double on another efficient night of seven-of-10 shooting from the field.

“We lost the fourth quarter by a wide margin and winning the first three quarters helped us out a lot,” said Coach Ogi on the win. “We have started off slow before, and I’m glad we weren’t down early. Getting the play-in game out of the way was big. Now, it’s time to focus on our first round match-up.”

With the win, Raptors Uprising moved one step closer to clinching a berth in the NBA 2K League Playoffs, as the winners of The Ticket will automatically earn entry as the eighth seed to the post-season, in addition to a portion of the $180,000 USD prize pool.

On Friday, Toronto will play a red-hot Celtics Crossover Gaming (4-5) team, who enter The Ticket having won their last three games.

Led by second-leading scorer in the NBA 2K League, oFAB, the team from Boston has knocked off Knicks Gaming, Wizards District Gaming, and Heat Check Gaming to come into Friday’s game as the fourth seed and one of the hottest teams in the league.

Toronto will have to be wary of last year’s second-overall pick in the inaugural 2018 NBA 2K League Draft, as oFab has been lights out in his second year with Celtics Crossover Gaming, averaging an impressive double-double: 22.5 points and a league-leading 13.0 assists, to go along with 2.6 steals while operating the point for Boston.

“We need to make it tough on oFab to get to his spots,” said Raptors Uprising Coach Ogi. “Making simple reads will help us a lot on the offensive end, and we also have to be better defensively. I expect us to play a better ball game than we did against the Lakers.”

Sick x 973 leads all Raptors Uprising players in scoring. The consistent big man is putting up 17.5 points to go along with 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.9 steals through 12 regular-season games split between Toronto and Cleveland.

Last year, Knicks Gaming — who finished third-last in the regular season — caught fire at the right time to win The Ticket and earn a berth in the post-season, before going on to eventually capture the inaugural NBA 2K League Championship in true underdog fashion.

So, make sure you tune in for this one, as the winner of Friday’s round of 16 game will move on to the final day of The Ticket, with an eventual champion to be crowned on Saturday night.

Key Matchup: The two floor generals Kenny Got Work and oFab will be the matchup to watch in this one, as these are two of the better players in the league going head-to-head. Since moving to his more natural point guard position, Kenny Got Work has averaged 22.5 points to go along with 6.0 assists in two games, so you can expect the Raptors Uprising second-year pro to come out strong in this one. He’ll have to in order to keep up with early MVP-candidate oFab running the point for Celtics Crossover Gaming. These are two players who can really be x-factors for their team, so make sure you pay close attention to this matchup.

Where To Watch: Tune in live to Twitch.tv/RaptorsGC at 8 p.m. ET to catch the Raptors Uprising as they try to advance past Celtics Crossover Gaming and move on in the most important tournament of the year.