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New York takes a 2-0 lead and puts Las Vegas on the brink

Posted on by Vanessa
New York takes a 2-0 lead and puts Las Vegas on the brink

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NEW YORK – Rinse. Once again, the New York Liberty are one win away from redemption and a return to the WNBA Finals.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points, including the go-ahead score with 1:15 left, and led four players in double figures as the Liberty pushed the Las Vegas Aces to the brink of elimination and took a commanding 2-0 lead, 88-84 Victory in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals on Tuesday.

Game 3 takes place on Friday evening in Las Vegas.

The Liberty used a 15-4 run in the second quarter and the same formula that gave them a 10-point win in Game 1. They perfected it on Tuesday.

After New York built a 10-point lead in the third quarter, the Aces slowly began to pull away, eventually tying the score at 81 when Alysha Clark's corner 3 hit nothing but nylon with 1:31 left. But seconds later Ionescu scored the winning goal.

Still smarting from a four-game loss in last year's final, a familiar scenario played out in the Liberty's fifth straight win over their rivals this season. Ionescu's ball throwing, untimely turnovers for Las Vegas and defensive breakdowns that led to easy shots allowed another sellout crowd at Barclays Center to get into the game.

Brenna Stewart, who scored 34 points in Game 1, scored 15 points with eight assists and seven rebounds. Jonquel Jones had 14 points and Courtney Vandersloot scored 12 points off the bench.

The Aces jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter, with Clark scoring eight of the team's first 10 points. But there were signs that trouble was brewing when guard Kelsey Plum picked up her second foul just two minutes into the game. Plum scored just six points after leading the Aces with 24 points in Game 1.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Liberty forward Kayla Thornton drove right around Plum for an easy layup. Aces head coach Becky Hammon immediately called a timeout and gave her team a lively jab from the bench.

Hammon left her players and the referees with plenty of additional contempt as the Aces allowed New York to shoot 55% and trail 46-40, capped by two long 3-pointers from Ionescu. There were nine lead changes in the first half.

The Aces had no answer to New York's inside game, allowing 44 points in the post, and their 13 turnovers led to 22 Liberty points.

League MVP A'ja Wilson had 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Las Vegas, where five players reached double figures. Jackie Young scored 17, Chelsea Gray added 14 and Tiffany Hayes had 10 off the bench.

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