New York takes a 2-0 lead and puts Las Vegas on the brink

NEW YORK – Rinse. Once again, the New York Liberty are one win away from redemption and a return to the WNBA Finals.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points, including the go-ahead score with 1:15 left, and led four players in double figures as the Liberty pushed the Las Vegas Aces to the brink of elimination and took a commanding 2-0 lead with an 88-84 victory in the WNBA best-of-five semifinals on Tuesday.

Game 3 takes place on Friday evening in Las Vegas.

The Liberty used a 15-4 run in the second quarter and the same formula that gave them a 10-point win in Game 1. They perfected it on Tuesday.

After New York built a 10-point lead in the third quarter, the Aces slowly began to pull away, eventually tying the score at 81 when Alysha Clark's corner 3 hit nothing but nylon with 1:31 left. But Ionescu scored the game-winning basket seconds later.

The Aces had a chance to tie the score, but the ball went out of bounds on the sideline with 10 seconds left. Initially, the Aces dominated possession, but a Liberty challenge gave them the ball, which led to Ionescu hitting two free throws to seal the win.

Still smarting from a four-game loss in last year's final, a familiar scenario played out in the Liberty's fifth straight win over their rivals this season. Ionescu's ball throwing, untimely turnovers for Las Vegas and defensive mishaps that led to easy shots ensured another sellout crowd at Barclays Center – with many celebrities in the stands – came into play.

“Being up 2-0 is great,” said Ionescu, who had nine rebounds, five assists and at least three 3-pointers in her sixth straight game. “We didn’t win anything. We did what we were supposed to do. That's not what we came for. We are a hungry group. We fought, they came out with great success. We made big stops when we needed to.

“We don’t take them lightly and we got a good win.”

Brenna Stewart, who scored 34 points in Game 1, scored 15 points with eight assists and seven rebounds. Jonquel Jones had 14 points and Courtney Vandersloot scored 12 points off the bench.

The Aces jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter, with Clark scoring eight of the team's first 10 points. But there were signs that trouble was brewing when guard Kelsey Plum picked up her second foul just two minutes into the game. Plum scored just six points after leading the Aces with 24 points in Game 1.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Liberty forward Kayla Thornton drove right around Plum for an easy layup. Aces head coach Becky Hammon immediately called a timeout and gave her team a lively jab on the bench.

Hammon left her players (and the officials) with plenty of additional derision as the Aces allowed New York to shoot 55% to reach a 46-40 deficit, capped by two long 3-pointers from Ionescu. There were nine lead changes in the first half.

The Aces had no answer to New York's inside game, allowing 44 points in the post, and their 13 turnovers led to 22 Liberty points.

League MVP A'ja Wilson had 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Las Vegas, where five players reached double figures. Jackie Young scored 17, Chelsea Gray added 14 and Tiffany Hayes had 10 off the bench.

The Aces have a difficult hill to climb. There is no precedent for a WNBA team overcoming a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five series. If they can win both home games, they will become only the second team to ever force a Game 5.

“We neither lost nor won a championship. Nothing was won tonight,” Hammon said after the game. according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

“There is no doubt, we are facing a war,” Hammon added.

The availability of Aces starting center Kiah Stokes is also unknown after she left with a concussion in the third quarter while attempting to chase down a loose ball. She remained on the field for several minutes and did not return after being helped to the locker room.

New York takes a 2-0 lead and puts Las Vegas on the brink

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