Two of a kind for champion Aces
Overcome injuries to key players and clinch rare repeat
NEW YORK — Somehow, someway, the Las Vegas Aces did it.
Despite entering Game 4 of the WNBA Finals as underdogs after losing a pair of starters to injury earlier in the week, the Aces rallied Wednesday night at the Barclays Center. Las Vegas won a second consecutive WNBA championship by digging out of a halftime hole and hanging for a 70-69 victory over the New York Liberty.
“They stepped up when their names were called,” A’ja Wilson said of her teammates in a ceremony on the floor right after the final buzzer. “That’s our team and our culture.”
Wilson was named WNBA Finals MVP after finishing with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while Jackie Young scored nine of her 16 points in a decisive fourth quarter that put the Aces in historic company. They’re the first WNBA team since the 20012002 Los Angeles Sparks to win back-to-back titles.
“My teammates always have a lot of confidence and faith in me and it just instills it in me,” Young said.
Liberty point guard Courtney Vandersloot’s corner three-pointer hit off the far rim at the buzzer, and the Aces were running towards each other and staging a dogpile in celebration moments later.
Aces coach Becky Hammon couldn’t stop grinning. Her performance will go down as one of the greatest coaching displays in WNBA history as she navigated a 39-30 halftime deficit despite being without point guard Chelsea Gray and center Kiah Stokes.
Both Gray and Stokes suffered foot injuries in a Game 3 loss to the Liberty on Sunday. Stokes tossed her crutches aside from the bench to join in on the celebration despite wearing a protective boot.
“I know who I have in my locker room,” Hammon said. “There’s not a person in there I don’t believe in. I know what they’re made of, and I told them, ‘End of the day, win or lose, I’m rolling with them.’ ”
Veteran reserve Cayla George stepped up big in place for Stokes, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes on the floor. She hit a pair of three-pointers in a minute to kick-start a third quarter run that saw the Aces capture the lead for the first time since the game’s opening minutes.
Las Vegas rated as the best defensive team all regular season and was forced to rely on that side to get back into the game. The Liberty shot only 36% from the floor and were particularly frustrated with the Aces’ defensive pressure during the latter’s 23-12 third-quarter advantage.
The Aces were up 53-51 going into the fourth quarter and never surrendered the lead from there with Young scoring five of their first seven points to build a 60-53 cushion.
That would be their biggest lead, though Las Vegas also went up 70-64 with 1:27 remaining when Wilson — who went 11-for21 from the floor — made her final midrange jumper of the night.
Vandersloot then hit a 3, and Sabrina Ionescu followed with a pull-up jumper to cut the lead to one point in a span of 32 seconds.
The Aces drained the clock on their final offensive possession but didn’t end up getting a clean look as Jonquel Jones blocked a Wilson layup to give the Liberty the ball back with 15 seconds remaining.
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello called a timeout and drew up a play but it didn’t work with the Aces’ suffocating defense foiling the plans.
Behind their defensive identity, the play of their MVP and their resilience down the stretch, the Aces can lay claim to being the best team in the league once again.
“This group has been through so much but it’s here,” guard Kelsey Plum said. “There’s a lot of years that we weren’t so super, but you cant build a superteam in a couple months. It takes year. I’m just really proud of this group. We made big plays and we’re champions.”