The Las Vegas Aces’ dreams of the WNBA championship three-peat have been extinguished. Instead, the New York Liberty are going to the WNBA finals after beating the Aces 76-62 in Game 4.
The Liberty closed out the Aces’ season in front of a loud, packed crowd in Las Vegas, getting to an early lead that they never quite let go of. The Aces put up a good fight in the physical matchup, but struggled to get shots despite some great looks on the floor. The game was close through the third quarter, before New York pulled away and took the dominant 14-point win.
Both teams started off slow and struggled to score, with the Liberty going 9-for-19 and the Aces going 6-for-19 in the first quarter. Jackie Young drained a three to start the the Aces off, but Las Vegas wasn’t able to score again in until halfway through the quarter. Both teams eventually found their footing and the Aces tightened things up, with New York heading into the second quarter with a 23-19 lead.
Sabrina Ionescu, who was held to only four points in Game 3, scored 12 points in the first quarter, going 4-for-4 (including three three-pointers).
The Liberty, who were up by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, held on to the lead despite a push-and-pull from the Aces, who got within one point with just a minute left in the half. Despite being able to take the lead, Las Vegas couldn’t get the ball into the net despite several attempts. Breanna Stewart got a layup to give the Liberty a three-point lead heading into the locker room.
In the third quarter, New York and Las Vegas stayed in somewhat of a holding pattern. Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich got into early foul trouble for the Liberty, forcing the team to adjust the approach. A’ja Wilson, meanwhile, continued to be a dominant defensive force: A massive block on Stewart prompted a chorus of “MVP” chants from the crowd.
Despite the continued struggles with scoring, the Aces nearly took the lead at the end of the third quarter. Young nailed an insane, buzzer-beating halfcourt shot that was eventually called back — impressive, even though she didn’t get it off in time.
The momentum Young’s missed shot could have generated for the Aces did not hold up in the fourth quarter, as the team quickly went down six points and Becky Hammon was forced to call a timeout just 71 seconds in the quarter. Stewart and Wilson traded some big blocks, but the Liberty pulled ahead to take an 11-point lead — the biggest of the game — off a massive three-pointer from Ionescu.
From there, New York only pulled further away, cementing the win and earning a trip to the WNBA Finals for the second year in a row. With the victory, New York snaps a 12-game home playoff streak for Las Vegas.
