The Las Vegas Aces’ three-peat quest comes to an end as they lost 88-84 to the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals.
The win gave the Liberty a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, with Sabrina Ionescu scoring a joint-high 24 points to put the Aces on the brink.
New York, seeking a first-ever championship, now appears ready to avenge last year’s loss to the Aces in the WNBA Finals: no team in league history has ever overcome a deficit 2-0 in a best-of-five playoff series. .
But the Liberty players are not yet taking a lead.
“We didn’t win anything, I think everyone knows that,” Ionescu told reporters. “We did what we were supposed to do, which was protect the field, win two at home, but it’s not like we’re congratulating ourselves, celebrating, talking about how happy we are.”
The Liberty held a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but saw that advantage fade throughout the final period, coming to a head when Alysha Clark scored a three-pointer for the Aces to tie the game at 81-81 with 1:31 remaining.
Ionescu, who also had nine rebounds and five assists, was huge in the clutch, allowing the Liberty to regain the lead with a layup and a 15-foot jumper, then also converting three free throws late for increasing the lead to four with eight. seconds on the clock.
League MVP A’ja Wilson gave the Aces hope when a jumper scored her 24th point of the night, but two free throws from New York star Breanna Stewart – who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists – in the final seconds. closed the game.
For the Aces, a disappointing second quarter, in which they were outscored 24-13, saw their early lead crumble and they gave up 20 points from turnovers by halftime.
“Let me be mad at the refs, let me be mad at the New York Liberty, I don’t want to be mad at ourselves,” head coach Becky Hammon told reporters. “But that’s how it was. It was Aces against Aces tonight, we were fighting.
The third game of the series is scheduled for Friday in Las Vegas when the Aces will look to stage what would be a historic comeback in search of the second three-peat in league history.
In Tuesday’s other game, the Minnesota Lynx evened their series with a 77-70 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Minneapolis.
Minnesota was led by Courtney Williams with 17 points and Alanna Smith with 15 points, while WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who scored a combined 80 points in the Lynx’s 2-0 sweep of the Phoenix Mercury in the first round, had a quieter night with nine points, but stood out on defense with 12 rebounds and four blocks .
The series now heads to Connecticut for the next two games before a potential deciding game in Minnesota next week.
Sun forward Alyssa Thomas led all scorers with 18 points, but it was a losing cause for Connecticut, which is looking to return to the WNBA Finals after losing to the Aces two years ago.
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