Sabrina Ionescu scored just four points and the Liberty couldn’t overcome a poor third quarter as they lost 95-81 to the Aces on Friday night in Las Vegas.
New York still has a 2-1 lead in the series.
Here are the takeaways…
– Both teams were involved in a very contentious match after one half. The number of aces increased just three and there were 18 lead changes, the most in a half in WNBA Playoff history. However, that all changed in the third quarter.
The combination of Las Vegas defense and poor shooting allowed the Aces to beat New York 21-6 and finish at a 17-2 mark. At one point, the Liberty missed twelve consecutive shots. New York shot 2-for-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 build a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and get their first win of the series, and their first win over the Liberty this season – New York swept their regular season road series.
-A big reason for the turnaround from Game 2 was the defense on Ionescu. After the Liberty Guard dropped 24 points (11 in the fourth quarter) to give New York a 2-0 series lead, Las Vegas wouldn’t let her get going.
Ionescu remained scoreless until she hit a free throw in the fourth quarter. She went 0-for-5 (0-1 from three) before hitting a three to get her first bucket. Her three-pointer extended Ionescu’s streak of playoff games with at least one three to 19 games.
Las Vegas threw primary defenders and doubled them up forcing Ionescu to give up the ball and the other Liberty players just couldn’t keep up with the pace of the first half.
Ionescu finished with four points on 1-for-7 shooting, five assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
–Jonquel Jones Getting into big trouble didn’t help the Liberty. The New York center picked up three fouls leading into the second half and quickly picked up a fourth foul early in the third quarter. Without Jones on the court, New York had to play small or lean on Nyara Sabally who just can’t spread the floor like Jones does.
Jones finished with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, six rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes on the floor.
Breanna Stewart (19 points), Jones (11) and Leonie Fiebich (10) were the only Liberty players to score in double figures.
–Aja Wilson was nails in the first half as her team leaned on the WNBA MVP early. She played all twenty minutes of the first half and led her team by Jackie Jong – with 13 points in the first two quarters. She didn’t get her first breather — other than the halftime break — until there were 2:38 left in the third.
She was also a threat on defense. No play summed up that defensive zeal more than a Liberty 2-on-1 where New York couldn’t get a clean shot off because of Wilson’s threat.
As the Aces defense kept the Liberty from scoring much in the third quarter, Wilson got plenty of rest. 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 in that regard Kelsey Plum (20), Chelsea grey (10) and Tiffany Hayes (11) all scored in double figures.
Game MVP: Aces Defense
Hard to pick just one player, but the entire Las Vegas unit did a fantastic job forcing turnovers and throwing the Liberty out of their offensive flow by holding Ionescu scoreless until the fourth quarter.
They forced 12 turnovers and scored 13 points from them.
Highlights
What’s next
The Liberty look to wrap up their semifinal in Las Vegas for Game 4 on Sunday at 3 p.m.
