5 hours Ago By Jamie Gordon
The New York Liberty ended the Las Vegas Aces' three-peat pursuit with an emphatic 76-62 victory. Sabrina Ionescu had 22 points to continue her hot streak, while Breanna Stewart had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Aces superstar A'ja Wilson scored 19 and added 10 rebounds.
New York will now compete in a sixth WNBA Finals looking for a first title. Las Vegas beat the franchise in last year's showpiece and were looking to become only the second team to win three WNBA Finals in a row. The Liberty celebrated getting revenge with a brutal trolling campaign on social media.
They put boots from New York brand Timberland on the Aces logo. And a meme of influencer Druski being handed a handbag was replaced with an L in another dig. There was plenty of talk in the build-up to the game after the Aces bounced back to avoid a sweep.
“It was really nice to see how we stuck together,” Ionescu said. “Obviously, we had a kind of rough game last game and it can go one of two ways. "We came out here and understood we wanted to be our best and get this done because we deserve that.
” Wilson was applauded off the court by the home crowd after falling short in pursuit of glory. “It's hard,” she said. “Everybody wants to beat you.
You're everybody's Super Bowl . "(The loss) sucks, it stings, but I'm very proud about the group that we had.” The Liberty will enjoy home-court advantage when the Finals begin on Thursday.
Tuesday sees the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx play a decider for the right to join them after splitting their series 2-2 so far. New York will be the favorite going into the Finals looking to finally secure a ring after five outings as bridesmaids. Ionescu is enjoying a career year, and sales of her signature Nike shoe have seen a 500% bump thanks to her performances.
Winning a first title for New York can help her join regular-season MVP Wilson at the pinnacle of the women's game..
