Brooklyn, NY—-The Liberty narrowly triumphed over the two-time WNBA Champions, the Las Vegas Aces, with a thrilling 88-84 victory Tuesday night at Barclays Center, where 14,321 fans were in attendance.
Sabrina Ionescu led the charge for New York, scoring 24 points while also grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Breanna Stewart contributed 15 points and 8 boards.
“Being up 2-0 is great, but we haven’t won anything,” Ionescu said. “Everyone knows that. Did what we were supposed to do, protect home court. Win two at home. We’re not patting ourselves on the back, talking how happy we are. We didn’t come to win two games at home and be satisfied, we’re a hungry group.”
The Aces came out strong, leading 27-19 with just over a minute left in the first quarter. However, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello made pivotal substitutions, bringing in Kayla Thornton and Courtney Vandersloot, which infused energy into the team and tightened up their defense.
The Liberty surged, going on an 11-2 run that carried them to a 46-40 lead by halftime. New York dominated in the paint, outscoring Las Vegas 44-24 in that area, marking the second-largest postseason scoring differential in the paint (+20) against the Aces in the past three seasons.
Off the bench, the Liberty had a significant advantage, outscoring the Aces’ reserves 21-10 in Game 2. Additionally, New York extended its remarkable streak of at least 15 assists to 127 consecutive games—combining regular season and postseason play—setting a WNBA record that surpasses the previous mark by over 50 games.
The Liberty shot an impressive 49.3% (33-67) from the field and 31% (9-29) from three-point range.
For the Aces, A’ja Wilson led the way with 24 points, rallying late in the game but missing some crucial shots down the stretch. Jackie Young added 17 points and kept Las Vegas competitive in the first half, though the Liberty managed to contain her in the second half.
“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, down 2-0. The series is not over.”
It’s not just fans attending the games in person; Game 1 of the series attracted an average TV viewership of 929,000, making it the most-watched WNBA semifinal in 22 years.