LAS VEGAS, NV. —After a tight first half, the Las Vegas Aces blew open the game with a 16-0 run in the third quarter en route to a 95-81 victory over the visiting New York Liberty on Friday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The win kept the Aces championship hopes alive in the best-of-5 WNBA Semifinal series after dropping the first 2 games in New York. The well-rounded effort was led by Jackie Young‘s 24 points, while Kelsey Plum scored 20, A’ja Wilson finished with 19 points and 14 boards, newly-minted 2024 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Tiffany Hayes added 11 points and Chelsea Gray scored 10 and dished out 7 assists.
Breanna Stewart led 3 Liberty players in double figures with 19 points.
The Liberty will have another opportunity to conclude their series against the Aces this Sunday. Should Las Vegas emerge victorious, a decisive Game 5 will take place on Tuesday in New York.
The Aces shot 37 of 71 from the field (.521), and 13 of 32 from 3-point range (.406), while the Liberty made 26 of 67 (.388) overall and 12 of 29 (.895) from distance.
Tiffany Hayes of the Las Vegas Aces has been awarded the 2024 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year honor
This was the Aces’ 12th consecutive home playoff victory, breaking the WNBA record shared by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-04) and Sacramento Monarchs (2003-06).
The Liberty scored 17 points off their 19 trips to the line and the Aces were 8 of 9 from the stripe.
“This is when team are most dangerous, when their backs are against the wall,” said Stewart, who led the Liberty with 19 points. “They’re going to throw everything at you. They came out and did what they’re supposed to do tonight.”
The Aces outscored the Liberty 42-28 in points in the paint, while the Liberty outscored the Aces 13-8 on second chance points.
Aces coach Becky Hammon expressed her concerns regarding the officiating related to Wilson, who has been named this season’s MVP for the third time. In the three games played, Wilson has been awarded a total of 10 free throws, with only two awarded in the most recent game.
“It’s ridiculous and I’m freakin’ tired of it,” Hammon said. “… If you do the minutes she’s played to the free throw attempts, it’s one free throw probably every 25 minutes. With as much as she’s touching the ball and as much as she’s in the paint — it’s not like she’s out there chucking 3s — and how she puts it on the floor. She attacks closeouts, and she gets bumped constantly and I’m tired of it.”
The Aces gave up just 6 points on 9 turnovers, while flipping New York’s 12 miscues into 13 points.
Wilson has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive postseason games which is the 12th longest streak in WNBA history. Diana Taurasi is next on the list with 22 straight double digit scoring efforts.
Wilson now has 414 career rebounds in postseason play, moving past Jonquel Jones into 8th on the WNBA’s career list. Sylvia Fowles is in 7th place with 426.
Wilson (14 defensive rebounds) now has 330 postseason defensive boards which are the 6th most in WNBA history. Lisa Leslie is next on the list with 344.
Photo/LasVegasAces/X
