How the Aces beat the Liberty to keep their season alive

It took six tries, but the Las Vegas Aces finally defeated the New York Liberty for the first time this year. And now the Aces’ pursuit of the three-peat remains.

Facing an elimination game in the WNBA semifinals on Friday, the Aces scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach with a 95-81 win. The Aces led by as many as 25 points, marking the first time either team reached a 20-point lead in the series.

After the game, the Aces insisted they weren’t feeling too comfortable or confident — after all, the team is down 2-1 and facing another elimination game on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC). But Friday appeared to be a potential turning point — the Aces finally cracked the code against the Liberty, limiting Sabrina Ionescu to four points and getting a better offensive night from their entire backcourt.

Friday’s games were all about momentum. In the previous semifinal, Minnesota also made a statement with a 90-81 road victory over the Connecticut Sun – the Lynx’s second straight win in the series – and is one win away from their first finals appearance since 2017. Success is on the rise On both ends of the floor, the Lynx led comfortably for most of the game, including by double figures in the fourth quarter.

ESPN takes a look at how the Aces staved off elimination, how the Lynx (2-1) won on the road and how Game 4 could play out on Sunday.

Liberty leads the best-of-five series 2-1

The third quarter makes the difference

At halftime on Friday, the Aces had a three-point lead, but it felt like it was anyone’s game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there were 18 lead changes at halftime, a WNBA playoff record. Even though the Liberty were struggling from their first half of the series, it seemed like they could still come away with the win if they got Sabrina Ionescu going (0-4 in the first 20 minutes).

The Aces made a statement in the third quarter with their best 10 minutes of the series and showed their will on both sides. A 16-0 run helped Las Vegas win 21-6 in the quarter. During that span, a bewildered New York scored the same number of points as turnovers and posted its lowest-scoring playoff quarter since the WNBA was introduced in 2006. The Aces’ 16 unanswered points marked the second-longest point streak against the Liberty this season .

As the home crowd waved white rally towels and grew louder with each game-winning 3-pointer by Las Vegas in the period, it felt like this The was the resurgence of the two-time defending champion Aces team, which had appeared only sporadically this season – and had not previously made its presence known in this series. And maybe, just maybe, they are here to stay. — Alexa Philippou

Aces eliminated Ionescu

After starring in Brooklyn’s first two games of the series, scoring a combined 45 points on 18 of 33 shooting, Ionescu didn’t get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter of Game 3. Ionescu finished the game with four points – his fewest ever in a playoff game – on 1 of 7 from the field.

Before Game 3, ESPN’s Carolyn Peck urged Las Vegas to catch Ionescu, a move that seemed risky against an experienced passer. The Aces managed to take Ionescu off offense without having to use such an aggressive defense. Ionescu’s seven shot attempts were her fewest in a regular-season and playoff game, and her five assists were the same total as in Games 1 and 2.

According to ESPN Research, Jackie Young was also more effective in defending Ionescu. After making seven of 10 shots while being defended by Young in the first two games, Ionescu missed both attempts on Friday. — Kevin Pelton

Tone indication from the top

The Aces were frustrated by their 11 first-half turnovers in Game 2. Chelsea Gray pointed out what a big difference it made, which ultimately resulted in just a four-point win for New York.

On Friday, Las Vegas was more in the game and had the ball under control from the start. The Aces only had three turnovers in the first half. And even though they finished with 12 — the same number as Game 2 — the Aces fared better overall. — Michael Voepel

Can the Aces play defense just as effectively in Game 4?

That seems to be the biggest key for the Aces because what they did on Friday really worked. For the same reason, Ionescu said after the game that the good thing about it is that the Liberty now have a day to respond to what the Aces did – essentially throwing three defenders at them at every opportunity – and finding ways to counteract it.

“We could see it; that was her adjustment,” Ionescu said. “Now we can watch the film and figure out what we need to do to get better. Both teams continue to tweak things, and I think it opened our eyes a little bit to what they’re going to do in the next game.” — Voepel

Lynx leads the best-of-five series 2-1

Lynx beat Sun at their own game

During the regular season, Minnesota ranked last in the WNBA with an average of 28.1 points, instead letting it fly from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Connecticut ranked fourth (38.5) and allowed the fewest of any team (33.8). So it was no surprise that the Sun won the points battle in the first two games of this series, including a 38-30 lead in the Game 2 loss.

That changed suddenly on Friday when the Lynx surpassed their previous season high (40) with 48 points. Minnesota achieved this primarily through strong ball and player movement. Of the team’s 19 layups, 14 were assisted (74%), and eight of them came on cuts, according to Second Spectrum tracking. That’s tied for the second-most layups off cuts in a WNBA game in the regular season and playoffs. — Pelton

The defense doomed Sun

Toward the end of the game, ESPN play-by-play announcer Pam Ward said of Minnesota, “This team firing on all cylinders is a thing of beauty.” Shooting on all cylinders describes exactly what happened in Game 3 for the Lynx , who shot 57.4% from the field. After scoring 28 points in the first two games of the series, Napheesa Collier topped all players with 26 points on Friday, while Courtney Williams (16 points, 8 assists) recorded her first career playoff game with at least 15 points and eight assists .

For the defensive-minded Sun, that means things have gone disastrously wrong on that end of the floor. It was by far the worst shooting percentage Connecticut has ever allowed this season (the previous high was 51.7% against New York on June 8). And with Marina Mabrey having a poor night from 3-point range (she missed her first nine attempts and finished 1-for-11), Connecticut couldn’t keep up. The Suns must at least return to their physical, relentless defensive identity to prevent the Lynx from finding an offensive rhythm — and to keep their season alive. — Philippou

Can Connecticut avoid a repeat of 2023?

In last year’s WNBA semifinals, the Sun won Game 1 on the road against the Liberty, but lost the next three games and the series. Now Connecticut is one loss away from history repeating itself.

According to ESPN Research, no team other than the Sun has lost multiple best-of-five series after winning Game 1. This has happened twice for Connecticut: last year and in the 2020 semifinals against the Aces in the neutral Wubble setting. a series in which the Sun led 1-0 and 2-1 before losing in five games. — Pelton