On the brink of elimination, the Aces proved on Friday night that, as two-time defending WNBA champions, they weren’t ready to give up.
Las Vegas took charge with a 16-point run in the third quarter and held the Liberty scoreless for 7:36, winning 95-81 to narrow New York’s lead in the semifinal series to 2-1.
The Liberty will have another chance to finish off the Aces on Sunday. If Las Vegas wins that game, a deciding Game 5 will take place on Tuesday in New York.
This victory marked the Aces’ 12th straight home playoff win, breaking the WNBA record that was previously held by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-04) and Sacramento Monarchs (2003-06).
Las Vegas finally defeated the Liberty for the first time this year. New York had won all three regular-season games and the first two matches in this series.
“This is when teams are most dangerous, when their backs are against the wall,” said Breanna Stewart, who led the Liberty with 19 points. “They’re going to throw everything at you. They came out and did what they were supposed to do tonight.”
Jackie Young topped the Aces with 24 points, Kelsey Plum added 20 points, A’ja Wilson contributed 19 points and 14 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes scored 11 points, and Chelsea Gray had 10 points along with seven assists. The Aces shot 52.1% overall, including 40.6% from the 3-point range.
Aces coach Becky Hammon expressed frustration about the officiating concerning Wilson, this season’s MVP for the third time. Wilson has taken only 10 free throws in the three games, including just two in this match.
“It’s ridiculous and I’m freakin’ tired of it,” Hammon said. “If you do the minutes she’s played to the free throw attempts, it’s one free throw probably every 25 minutes. With as much as she’s touching the ball and as much as she’s in the paint — it’s not like she’s out there chucking 3s — and how she puts it on the floor. She attacks closeouts, and she gets bumped constantly, and I’m tired of it.”
In addition to Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally each scored 11 points for the Liberty, while Leonie Fiebich added 10 points.
Sabrina Ionescu, who had been averaging 24.5 points in the playoffs, managed only four points on 1-of-7 shooting. She didn’t score until a minute into the fourth quarter when she made a technical free throw.
“We were trying to not let her get downhill at us,” Hammon said.
Las Vegas also stepped up their defense in the paint. After being outscored by 20 points in the lane in Game 2, the Aces flipped the script in this game with a 42-28 advantage.
“We knew they wanted to get into the paint,” Gray said. “They were killing us inside. Whether it was layups, post-ups, (offensive) boards, we knew coming into this game that was going to be our starting point, not on the offensive end.”
The first half was back-and-forth, but the Aces took control in the third quarter, turning a 57-53 lead into a 73-53 advantage.
New York only scored six points in that period, and coach Sandy Brondello called two timeouts in an attempt to stop the Aces’ momentum. Las Vegas increased their lead to 78-55 early in the fourth quarter, finishing with a 21-2 run.
The game felt balanced at the start of the second half. The first 30 minutes included 18 lead changes and eight ties, with Las Vegas leading 52-49 at halftime.
“We’re a way better team than what we showed,” Brondello said. “Even that first half we were only down by three; it just didn’t feel good.”
The Aces played without Kiah Stokes, who had a concussion toward the end of Game 3. Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was seen sitting courtside next to teammate Dereck Lively II, coach Jason Kidd, and general manager Nico Harrison.
The Mavericks were having their training camp in Las Vegas this week. Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, were also in attendance.
