The New York Liberty put down the back-to-back defending champions in Game 4 in Las Vegas, avenging last year’s Finals defeat, too. Sabrina Ionescu plus Jonquel Jones lit up the perimeter. Breanna Stewart scored at three levels. And the defense shut down any hope for a second-half comeback.

The Liberty’s intensity resembled that of unfed wolves early. Ionescu rattled off a dozen marks, nailing three trays and driving left into the lane for a bucket plus the foul. And Stewart scored on a big-to-big pick-and-roll set, saved a broken play by maneuvering from the top to the cup easily and registered a putback.

Yet, the Aces picked up extra opportunities and earned multiple trips to the line, offsetting their six of 19 start from the field. 

In frame two, Leonie Fiebich – New York’s connector- picked up her third foul as the group was ahead 10 points with five minutes left in the half. As she sat, the visitors were outscored 11-4 to end the period on moves from Chelsea Gray, A’ja Wilson, Alysha Clark and Kelsey Plum. The Liberty converted two of 11 baskets and committed three turnovers in that span.

At halftime, the Liberty were up 41-38. The squad had 20 paint points, none on the break, seven via second chances, three off turnovers and two from the bench. 

The Aces had 18 interior marks, four in the open court, four on spare tries, 12 off turnovers and seven from the reserves. 

Then both squads raised their defensive RPMs. For the guests, Kennedy Burke was held scoreless on three tries. Stewart missed at the arc against Clark and Wilson plus failed curling into a jumper over Plum. Ionescu got her 3-pointer denied by Wilson on a switch. And the squad had five turnovers as it recorded five of 19 baskets. 

The Aces were barely any better, connecting on a third of looks and outscoring the Liberty by one. Wilson was the solution on offense, dribbling from the wing to the rim for a layup, scoring on an inverted pick-and-roll set with Clark and making a shot under the cup on the feed from Tiffany Hayes. 

The fourth quarter started with the visitors on top, 53-51.

It was a heavyweight fight heading into the championship rounds. The Liberty’s defense maintained its edge, and their three artillery strikes were the difference.

Stewart had three blocks, two on Plum up close and the last against Wilson at mid-range. And Jackie Young and Gray were held scoreless on five attempts. 

Despite Stewart’s four misses, the offense was in sixth gear, shooting 50% to close the game. Ionescu was the four quarter’s leading scorer with seven points, coming from a give-and-go on the right side plus nailing two freebies and a left-side catch-and-shoot banger.

The Liberty won 76-62. The group picked up 30 paint points, four on the break, 14 via second chances, eight off turnovers and eight from the bench.

Ionescu totaled 22 points on 50% shooting, with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and four turnovers. Stewart dropped 19 marks on eight of 21 attempts, with 14 rebounds, five assists, one steal, four blocks and two giveaways. And Jones had 14 points on 45.5% accuracy, with six rebounds and one turnover. 

The Aces logged 28 interior digits, seven in the open court, four on extra tries, 14 off turnovers and 13 from the reserves. 

Wilson put up 19 points on seven of 13 shots, with 10 boards, one dime, one steal, five blocks and a turnover. Plum tallied 17 points on 31.3% shooting, with two rebounds, one assist and two steals. And Hayes had 11 points on 37.5% shooting, with three rebounds, two assists, one block and two turnovers.

Stewart and Ionescu handled the on-court interview. The former said, “We watched the film. Game 3 was ugly… We didn’t want to play another game in New York until it’s the Finals.”

The latter said, “We haven’t done anything yet… We are three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We got to come out, and we got to punch because nothing’s been given to us yet.”

The winner of Connecticut Sun @ Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday will play New York in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday. 

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The Aces will leave to deal another day. A’ja Wilson carried her squad to the finish line, and the defensive pressure- blitzing Sabrina Ionescu and suffocating the 3-point line- zapped the visitors in the second half. 

Wilson didn’t allow the Liberty’s protection to put a lid on her game early. She came out converting a pick-and-pop jumper, assaulting the rim and splashing a top-of-the-key tray. 

On the other side, Breanna Stewart rattled off three consecutive baskets. And Jones burst into the paint from the top to the cup for a layup and downed a corner triple. 

In frame two, Plum added seven digits, pulling up in the corner and maneuvering to the hole twice. Wilson disrupted two close-range attempts for Stewart and scored on a gorgeous feed from Chelsea Gray on a pick-and-roll set, plus logged a bucket from the dunker spot. 

At halftime, the Aces were up 52-49. Additionally, the squad had 20 paint points, nine on the break, seven on extra tries, three off turnovers and eight from the bench.

The Liberty accumulated 18 interior marks, eight in the open court, six via second chances, two off turnovers and 16 from the reserves.  Ionescu was held scoreless on four attempts.

Then the hosts crushed the guests, making them play mostly from the outside and forced seven turnovers. Only two of 14 field goals were allowed in the third quarter. Alysha Clark bothered Stewart’s jumper on time on the perimeter and in the post. The defense closed in quickly on offensive rebounds. And the passing lanes were as secure as Fort Knox.

The contributions on offense were overkill. Plum followed up with two trifectas and dribbled left by Leonie Fiebich from the top to the cup for a layup. And Wilson nailed a step-back jumper over Jonquel Jones plus spun out of a post up at the elbow for a catch and score under the rim. 

The fourth quarter started with the champs ahead 73-55.

Yet the rest of the match was a formality as no Liberty player logged more than six minutes.

The Aces won 95-81. The team picked up 42 paint points, eight on the break, 12 via second chances, 13 off turnovers and 17 from the bench. 

Wilson had 19 points on eight of 14 attempts, with 14 rebounds, three assists, one block and three giveaways. Young put up 24 marks on 56% accuracy, with six rebounds, four assists and one turnover. And Plum dropped 20 points on seven of 11 makes, with one steal and one turnover. 

The Liberty finished with 28 interior digits, 13 in the open court, 12 on spare tries, six off turnovers and 21 from the reserves. 

Stewart had 19 points on seven of 17 shots, with six boards and one dime. Nobody else took more than eight looks. Ionescu scored four points on one of seven attempts, with five rebounds, five assists and five giveaways. Jones totaled 11 points 50% accuracy, with six rebounds, one assist, one block and two turnovers. And Fiebich had 10 points on four of eight makes, with four rebounds and two assists.

Wilson handled the on-court interview. She said, “We got to sustain this. This is just one game…”

The series is 2-1 in favor of the Liberty. No team in WNBA history has come back in a series after losing the first two.

The Liberty’s superior 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense at the outside and up close, decided Game 1. Jonquel Jones was attracting extra help near the basket. And Sabrina Ionescu plus Breanna Stewart garroted the champs, getting anything they wanted all over the floor.

Early, Stewart scored on a baseline cut and fastbreak layup. Then she made New York’s last three shots of the period: a catch-and-shoot triple at the top, used a horns set’s right avenue to dribble to the hole and nailed a jumper at the nail. 

Ionescu capitalized in transition following Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s steal, curled into a breakdown on the left side for a scoop and buried a pull-up tray in A’ja Wison’s eye.

Defensively, The Liberty were slow to blow up the pull-up shot from Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Wilson. Yet, they held the Aces to three of nine makes to close the frame in the last four minutes.

Next, the hosts’ 3-point protection was unrelenting. The Aces snipers saw a hand bothering almost every attempt and drained one of six behind the arc.

The offense slowed down, but it eventually exposed the cracks in Las Vegas’ security. Stewart got down to the rim on a face-up, making a layup on the right, used a double screen to find space, and buried a mid-range jumper, plus canned a fader over Gray, taking a 12-point lead in the last 36 seconds of the half.

At intermission, the Liberty were up 48-38, with an edge on the glass of four and had taken four extra free throws. The crew had 24 paint points, seven on the break, four via second chances, seven off turnovers and five from the bench.

The Aces had 16 interior marks, none in the open court, three on spare tries, eight off turnovers and seven from the reserves.

Subsequently, Plum came out of the break blazing, being the lone scorer for her team for over half the interval. She got to the rim from the top using Wilson’s handoff and isolated Ionescu twice for layups, including euro-stepping past her and burying two 3-pointers. Yet, her efforts resembled a fighter who connects on the hard right hand but instantly takes a combo to the face. Spike Lee even talked trash to her from courtside.

On the other side, Ionescu beat everyone on the break following Kennedy Burke’s steal and dribbled around a trap on the right side for a three-foot shot. And Stewart made the free throw line her home, making five of six.

The fourth quarter started with the hosts up 71-62.

Defensively, the squad forced the champs into difficult, contested looks from deep, allowing one of five. Length neutralized Plum, and Wilson didn’t make a fourth-quarter bucket until the game was out of reach.

On the attack, Ionescu opened the frame on a coast-to-coast drive plus punished Wilson and Jackie Young for sagging away from long range. And Stewart drained in three paint baskets to close.

The Liberty won 87-77. They had a nine-rebound advantage and attempted eight extra freebies. Furthermore, the team totaled 42 paint points, 16 on the break, 11 via second chances, 11 off turnovers and nine from the bench.

Stewart racked up 34 marks on 63.2% accuracy, with five rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and four turnovers. Ionescu added 21 points on nine of 15 looks, with four rebounds, five assists, two steals, one block and three turnovers. And Jones logged 13 points, making four of 10 shots, with 12 rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and four turnovers.

The Aces put up 38 interior digits, six in the open court, seven on spare tries, 15 off turnovers and 11 from the reserves.  

Plum amassed 24 points on nine of 17 ventures, with two rebounds, four assists and three giveaways. Wilson had 21 points on 56.3% shooting, with six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two turnovers. And Young had 17 marks on six of 16 tries, with two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

After the game, Stewart said, “We’re hungry… We’re going to be ready on Tuesday” for Game 2.

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The first changes from Game 1: Temi Fagbenle started for the Indiana Fever instead of NaLyssa Smith; Marina Mabrey was inserted for Tyasha Harris, who hurt her right ankle.

The Fever stunned the Sun early, scoring on the break. 

But like an experienced prize fighter absorbing an early flurry, the Sun regained control by giving multiple looks to Caitlin Clark on defense- DeWanna Bonner, DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey. On offense, Alyssa Thomas established the pace with her outlet passes and taking the rock up the court to score herself. 

Then the game’s physicality kicked up about 20 to 30° in the second quarter. Erica Wheeler undercut Carrington while going for a steal. And Clark bumped Mabrey out of bounds. 

As the period went on, Clark maneuvered around Veronica Burton in the press twice for a basket and scored with the help of Damiris Dantas’ drag screen and delivered a sweet arcing pass to Aliyah Boston cutting into the lane for a layup. Boston tallied two more baskets as well- a fadeaway on the baseline and a driving scoop around Brionna Jones.

But the hosts were sharper despite making one of six trays. Thomas collected six dimes on hit-ahead passes in transition and to the cutters in the half-court.

At halftime, the Sun led 41-34. They racked up 22 paint points, six on the break, nine via second chances, four off turnovers and 12 from the bench. 

The Fever had 18 interior marks, 11 on the break, two on extra tries, one off turnovers and two from the reserves.

Next, Clark responded. She got blitzed and kicked it to Lexie Hull for a wing triple, set up a roll for Boston, dashed by Mabrey plus Jones for a close scoop and notched a basket in transition. 

Mitchell connected on a wing 3-pointer and flicked an outlet pass to Hull on the break, giving the Fever a lead for 17 seconds.

At that point, Thomas took over the interval. She was like a ball and chain destroying a building, as defenders couldn’t contain her from pouring in baskets in the paint and downing one shot at the nail.  

The fourth quarter started with the Sun above 68-57.

The Fever pushed the pace, generating seven more field goal attempts than their hosts. Fagbenle converted four of five shots in the restricted area and wing. And the group cut the deficit to one. 

But Bonner canned a tray, bringing the deficit back to four.

The Fever subsequently made the worst mistake of the game. Fagbenle fouled Carrington, putting her on the line, where she made both. The Fever had to guard that possession, make a quick triple and likely down another after fouling the inbound if they couldn’t steal. There should have been better instruction from coach Christie Sides.

The Fever flatlined on the next possession. Needing a 3-pointer, Mitchell dribbled to the hole, missing. 

The Sun won 87-81 and will advance to round two to play the Minnesota Lynx. Despite being outrebounded by 14, the group took 14 more free throws and committed six fewer turnovers. 

Thomas had 19 points on nine of 17 looks, with 13 dimes, five rebounds, one steal and one turnover. Mabrey added 17 points on 33% accuracy, with two boards, six assists, two blocks and two turnovers. The rest of the Sun made 15 of 37 attempts.

For the Fever, Clark had 25 marks on 43.5% shooting, with six rebounds, nine assists, one steal, one block and three giveaways. Mitchell put up 17 points on seven of 18 tries, with three rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. And Boston logged 16 points on seven of 12 ventures, with 19 rebounds, three assists, one steal, two blocks and two turnovers.

At the post-game presser, Thomas said turning into a scorer was about it being Playoff time. “This is what I live for. Playoffs is what I’m waiting for all season long, and that’s my game… in that moment my team needed me to score, and that’s what I went out there and did.”

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