McCoughtry, Aces force a Game 5
BRADENTON, Fla. — Angel McCoughtry said she received some inspirational advice from Elena Delle Donne before the game and applied it to keep Las Vegas’ season alive.
McCoughtry scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter as Las Vegas took control and the Aces beat the Sun 84-75 on Sunday in Game 4 of the best-of-five WNBA semifinals.
“It helped (talking) with people who had been in that position, who had won it and done it,” McCoughtry said. “It’s amazing to talk to her about that.”
Jasmine Thomas made a careerhigh six 3-pointers on 11 attempts and finished with 25 points for the Sun. Alyssa Thomas added 15 points, and De Wanna Bonn er had 10 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
McCoughtry finished with six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
“Angel wasn't ready to go home. That was fun to watch,” Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said. “Angel played that third quarter and it was a spectacular performance to get us the lead.”
A'ja Wilson, the 2020 league MVP, had 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for top-seeded Las Vegas and Danielle Robinson also scored 18 points.
Game 5 is Tuesday. McCoughtry scored 14 of the first 18 second-half points for Las Vegas and assisted on the remaining four as the Aces turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 55-46 lead midway through the third quarter. Connecticut trailed by at least nine points the rest of the way.
“She single-handedly took over, had 12 points quickly out of halftime and assisted on another basket,” Sun coach Curt Miller said of McCoughtry. “She played 13 or 14 minutes more than she had been averaging. You see what she's capable of doing in extended minutes with the amount of shots.”
Storm sweep to Finals: Breanna Stewart scored a career playoff-high 31 points — tying Seattle's franchise playoff record — and Sue Bird had 16 points and nine assists as the Storm beat Minnesota 92-71 to sweep the Lynx and advance to the WNBA Finals.
Stewart added six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks for the No. 2 seed Storm.
Bird and Stewart combined to score or assist on 13 points during a 17-0 run that gave Seattle a 24-8 lead when Sami Whitcomb made a layup with 54.2 seconds left in the first quarter. Stewart made a short jumper to push the Storm's lead to 18 points with 1:05 left in the first half, but Minnesota scored 16 of the next 21 points, including six by Crystal Dangerfield and two 3-pointers by Odyssey Sims, to make it 48-41 about three minutes into the third quarter.
Stewart answered with back-to-back layups and, after Jewell Loyd made another layup, Stewart converted a three-point play, then hit a 3-pointer in a 12-0 run that made it 60-41 about four minutes later. Minnesota trailed by double figures the rest of the way.
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 22 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Dangerfield scored 16.