Sabrina Ionescu scored only four points and the Freedom couldn’t overcome a poor third quarter in losing 95-81 to the Aces in Las Vegas Friday night.
New York still has a 2-1 lead in the series.
Here are the points to remember…
-Both teams found themselves in a hotly contested contest after halftime. The aces increased by just three and there were 18 lead changes, the most in one half in WNBA playoff history. However, everything changed in the third trimester.
The combination of Las Vegas’ defense and poor shooting allowed the Aces to outscore New York 21-6 in the frame and finish on a 17-2 run. At one point, the Liberty missed 12 straight shots. New York shot 2 of 13 (1-6 from three) and turned the ball over six times in the third quarter.
-That third quarter was enough for the Aces to pull away and take a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and get their first win of the series and their first win against the Liberty this season – New York swept their regular season. series.
-A big reason for the turnaround in Game 2 was the defense against Ionescu. After Liberty’s guard dropped 24 points (11 in the fourth quarter) to give New York a 2-0 series lead, Las Vegas wasn’t going to let her go.
Ionescu remained scoreless until she made a free throw in the fourth quarter. She was 0 for 5 (0-1 from three) on shots before hitting a three to collect her first bucket. Her three-pointer extended Ionescu’s streak of playoff games with at least one three to 19 games.
Las Vegas threw the main defenders and made sure she was doubled and forced Ionescu to give up the ball and the other Liberty players just couldn’t keep up with the pace they had in the first half .
Ionescu finished with four points on 1-of-7 shooting, five assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
–Jonquel Jones Getting into trouble didn’t help the Liberty. New York’s center picked up three fouls before the second half and quickly earned a fourth early in the third quarter. Without Jones on the court, New York had to play small or rely Nyara Sabally who simply cannot extend the floor the way Jones does.
Jones finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, six rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes on the floor.
Breanna Stewart (19 points), Jones (11) and Léonie Fiebich (10) were the only Liberty players to score in double figures.
–A’ja Wilson was nailed in the first half as her team leaned on the WNBA MVP from the start. She played all 20 minutes of the first half and led her team — with Jackie Young – with 13 points in the first two quarters. She didn’t get her first reprieve – outside of the halftime break – until 2:38 remained in the third.
She was also a threat on the defensive end. No game encapsulated that defensive fervor than a Liberty 2-on-1 where New York couldn’t get a clean shot because of the threat of Wilson.
With the Aces’ defense preventing Liberty from scoring much in the third quarter, Wilson was largely rested. She finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes on the court.
Young (22 points) led the team while Kelsey Plum (20), Chelsea Gray (10) and Tiffany Hayes (11) all achieved double-digit scores.
Game MVP: Ace Defense
Hard to pick just one player, but the entire Las Vegas unit did an incredible job forcing turnovers and taking the Liberty out of its offensive flow by keeping Ionescu scoreless until the fourth quarter.
They forced 12 turnovers and scored 13 points.
Highlights
What’s next
The Liberty look to close out their semifinal on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Las Vegas for Game 4.
