Sabrina Ionescu scored just four points and the Liberty could not overcome a poor third quarter as they lost 95-81 to the Aces in Las Vegas on Friday night.
New York still has a 2-1 series lead.
Here are the takeaways…
-Both teams were in a highly-contested contest after one half. Aces were up only 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 outscore New York 21-6 in the frame and ended on a 17-2 run. At one point, the Liberty missed 12 straight 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 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 was not going to let her get going.
Ionescu went scoreless until she hit a free throw in the fourth quarter. She was 0-for-5 (0-1 from three) shooting before she hit a three to pick up her first bucket. Her three-pointer did extend Ionescu’s streak of playoff games with at least one three to 19 games.
Las Vegas threw primary defenders and made sure she was doubled and forced Ionescu to give up the ball and the other Liberty players just couldn’t keep the pace they had in the first half.
Ionescu finished with four points on 1-of-7 shooting, five assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
–Jonquel Jones getting into foul trouble didn’t help the Liberty. The New York center had three fouls heading into the second half and quickly got a fourth 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 the way Jones does.
Jones finished with 11 points on 4-of-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.
–A’ja Wilson was nails in the first half as her team leaned on the WNBA MVP early on. She played all 20 minutes of the first half and led her team — with Jackie Young — with 13 points through the first two quarters. She didn’t get her first breather — aside from the halftime break — until 2:38 left in the third.
She was a menace on the defensive end, too. No play encapsulated that defensive fervor than a Liberty 2-on-1 where New York could not get a clean shot off because of the threat of Wilson.
With the Aces defense keeping 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 while Kelsey Plum (20), Chelsea Gray (10) and Tiffany Hayes (11) all scored in double-digits.
Game MVP: Aces defense
Hard to pick just one player but the whole Las Vegas unit did an amazing job forcing turnovers and taking the Liberty out of their offensive flow by keeping Ionescu scoreless until the fourth quarter.
They forced 12 turnovers and scored 13 points off of them.
Highlights
What’s next
The Liberty look to close out their semifinal round on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Las Vegas for Game 4.
