Sabrina Ionescu and her New York teammates downplayed the idea of being close to defeating the Aces. They believe they haven’t achieved anything yet.
Ionescu scored 24 points, and the Liberty won against Las Vegas 88-84 on Tuesday night, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.
“Being up 2-0 is great, but we haven’t won anything,” Ionescu said. “Everyone knows that. We did what we were supposed to do, protect home court. Win two at home. We’re not patting ourselves on the back or celebrating. We didn’t come to win two games at home and be satisfied; we’re a hungry group.”
Game 3 is on Friday night in Las Vegas, where the two-time defending champion Aces will try to avoid being defeated by the team they faced in the WNBA Finals last year.
“We protected home court. We want to go to Vegas,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “We play well on the road, and they play great at home.” History favors New York.
No team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-five playoff series in WNBA history. Only Phoenix managed to force a Game 5 in 2018 against Seattle.
“It’s a series for a reason; there’s no championship won off two wins,” Aces forward Alysha Clark said. “I’ve had a lot of playoff experience where I’ve been up 2-0 and down 2-0. The series is not over.”
The game was tied at 81 when Ionescu made a jumper with 1:15 left, giving New York a two-point lead. Both teams had opportunities before Ionescu fouled Tiffany Hayes with 16.9 seconds remaining after a jump ball.
Hayes made the first of two free throws, bringing the score to 84-83. New York grabbed the rebound, and Ionescu was fouled with 11.6 seconds left. She made just one free throw, making it 84-82.
Las Vegas had a chance to tie the game, but the ball went out of bounds on the sideline with 10.5 seconds left. After New York challenged the call that the ball belonged to the Aces, the officials changed the decision and gave the Liberty the ball.
Ionescu, who scored seven of the Liberty’s final nine points, then made two free throws to give her team a two-possession lead. “In the big moments, she steps up and doesn’t shy away from the moments,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said.
A’ja Wilson responded with a jumper with 5.6 seconds remaining, but Breanna Stewart hit two free throws less than a second later to secure the win.
“It was close down the stretch, but they made more plays than us,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said.
Hammon had mentioned after Game 1 that Tuesday’s game was “do or die.” “Did I say it was a must win? I was lying,” the coach said after Tuesday’s game, laughing. “Trying to bring the drama.”
Stewart ended the game with 15 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Wilson scored 24 points, and Jackie Young contributed 17 for the Aces.
The Liberty were ahead 69-62 going into the final quarter before the Aces came back, tying the game at 81 with Clark’s 3-pointer at 1:31 left.
After a tough start in Game 1, the Aces took a 27-22 lead after the first quarter, thanks to a strong opening by Chelsea Gray. She had only four points in the Game 1 loss, and Hammon said she would talk with her star guard.
Gray responded by playing aggressively, scoring 10 points in the first quarter.
The teams traded leads, and Las Vegas was ahead 40-37 with 2:33 left in the half. Then, Ionescu made two 3-pointers, with a three-point play by Kayla Thornton in between, giving New York a 46-40 lead at halftime.
This drew loud cheers from the sold-out crowd, which included celebrities like Carmelo Anthony, Alicia Keys, Robin Roberts, Colin Kaepernick, and Gayle King.
Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon was also in attendance. She had been let go as the coach of the Chicago Sky last week, and fans gave her a big ovation when she appeared on the video screen in the fourth quarter.
It’s not just fans attending the games. Game 1 of the series had an average viewership of 929,000 on TV, making it the most-watched WNBA semifinal in 22 years.
The Aces lost center Kiah Stokes with 9.5 seconds left in the third quarter. She was trying to chase a loose ball out of bounds when she fell hard to the ground after committing a loose ball foul.
She was on the floor for a few minutes before being helped to the locker room. The team reported she might have a concussion.
“It’s a head injury right now,” Hammon said. “We’ll wait and see; I don’t have a lot of information for you. We’ll be monitoring her very closely.”
