NEW YORK — Wash it off. I repeat – the New York Liberty are one win away from redemption and a return to the WNBA Finals.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 1:15 left, as Liberty nearly eliminated the Las Vegas Aces, taking a commanding 2-0 lead at 88-84 and scoring four players. led to double-digit points. Won Tuesday in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals.
Game 3 will be played Friday night in Las Vegas.
Liberty went on a 15-4 run in the second quarter, using the same method it used in its 10-point win in Game 1. I perfected it on Tuesday.
After New York built a 10-point lead in the third quarter, the Aces began to slowly chip away, ending up with 81 points when Alisha Clark’s corner 3 hit only Nylon with 1:31 left. I caught up with the score. However, seconds later Ionescu scored the winning goal.
The Aces had a chance to tie the score, but the ball went off the sideline with 10 seconds left. The ball was initially ruled to be Ace’s, but a Liberty Challenge gave the ball to Ace, and Ionescu hit two free throws to seal the victory.
A familiar scenario unfolded as Liberty, still reeling from a four-game losing streak in last year’s Finals, has won five straight against its rivals this season. A clutch shot by Ionescu, an ill-timed turnover by Las Vegas, and a defensive breakdown that led to an easy bucket kept the sold-out Barclays Center crowd (there were plenty of celebrities in the stands) back into the game. I did.
“It’s great to go 2-0,” said Ionescu, who had nine rebounds, five assists and made at least three 3-pointers in six straight games. “We haven’t won anything. We did what we had to do. This is not what we came to do. We are a hungry group. Although we fought , they came out swinging and had a big stop when they needed it.
“We didn’t take them lightly and got a solid win.”
Brenna Stewart, who scored 34 points in Game 1, had 15 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Jonquel Jones had 14 points and Courtney Vandersloot had 12 points off the bench.
The Aces took an eight-point lead in the first quarter, with Clark scoring eight of the team’s first 10 points. However, signs of trouble began to emerge when guard Kelsey Plum picked up her second foul just two minutes into the game. After leading the Aces with 24 points in Game 1, Plum only scored six points.
Three minutes into the second quarter, Liberty forward Kayla Thornton drove around Plum for an easy layup. Aces head coach Becky Hammon immediately called a timeout and gave her team a harsh tongue-lashing on the bench.
Hamon left the players (and officials) with further disrespect as the Aces allowed 55% shooting en route to falling behind New York 46-40, but were held back by two long 3-pointers from Ionescu. Ta. There were nine lead changes in the first half.
The Aces couldn’t handle New York’s inside game, allowing 44 points in the post and 22 Liberty points with 13 turnovers.
League MVP A’ja Wilson had 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Las Vegas, which had five players score in double figures. Jackie Young added 17 points, Chelsea Gray added 14 points and Tiffany Hayes added 10 points off the bench.
Ace has a difficult hill to climb. Never before has a WNBA team overcome a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five series. If they can win both games at home, they will become the second team to force their way through Game 5.
Hammon said after the game, “We haven’t lost or won a championship. We didn’t win anything tonight.” According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
“There’s no question, we’re going to war,” Hamon added.
It is also unclear whether Aces starting center Keir Stokes will be available after he left the team in the third quarter with a concussion while chasing down a loose ball. She sat on the court for several minutes and did not return after being taken to the locker room.
This story has been updated to add new information.