Aces blow past Storm in OT win
SEATTLE — Jackie Young sent the game in overtime with a buzzerbeating basket and then Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum hit big shots in the extra session to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 110-98 on Sunday to move within a victory of advancing to the WNBA Finals.
Las Vegas took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five WNBA playoff semifinal series after some wild final moments of regulation and a dominant performance in overtime.
Gray had been quiet in the fourth quarter but scored eight of her 29 points in overtime including a pair of 3s that silenced Storm fans that had been roaring only a few minutes earlier when it appeared Seattle was on the cusp of winning the pivotal game.
Seattle led 92-90 with 0.8 seconds left in regulation after Sue Bird hit a corner 3. It was a storybook moment to be another highlight in Bird’s final season before retiring.
But on the ensuing inbound play, Young got free on a switch and scored in the lane ahead of the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Las Vegas outscored Seattle 18-6 in overtime.
A’ja Wilson finished with a playoff career-high 34 points and 11 rebounds. Gray added 12 assists and Riquna Williams added a key 14 points off the bench. Plum had 16 points, including a key three-point play to start overtime for the Aces.
Parker lifts Sky past Sun: Candace Parker had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Kahleah Copper added 15 points and visiting Chicago beat Connecticut 76-72 to take a 2-1 series lead.
The defending champion Sky can advance to the finals with a win Tuesday night.
Copper’s 3-pointer with 6:14 left gave Chicago a 66-64 lead. Neither team scored for nearly the next 4 minutes until Emma Meesseman hit a jumper in the corner to extend the lead to four with 2:26 left.
Courtney Williams ended a 4:45 scoring drought that saw the Sun miss eight shots with a jumper with 1:45 left to make it 68-66. Copper then made two free throws and Meesseman added a layup to make it 72-66 with under a minute left.