The Las Vegas Aces came back from multiple double-digit deficits in game four of the WNBA Finals to defeat the New York Liberty 70-69 and win the best-of-five series 3-1.
This marks Las Vegas’ second consecutive WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship, which makes the Aces the first team to accomplish such a feat since the Los Angeles Sparks won back-to-back titles in 2001-02.
A’ja Wilson, the 2023 WNBA Finals MVP, led the way for the Aces with 24 points and 16 rebounds for her third double-double of these finals.
Wilson’s dominance was needed on both ends of the floor, as Las Vegas was without two starters from game three, Kiah Stokes and Chelsea Gray. Gray’s absence was especially worrisome to the Aces given that the point guard has been outstanding throughout these playoffs, averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 assists per game.
The veteran guard’s inability to be on the court was evident early as Las Vegas found themselves down 23-13 after the first quarter and 42-30 under a minute into the third quarter.
However, the third quarter, which has been Las Vegas’ most dominant quarter this season, was the turning point in the game. The Aces outscored the Liberty 23-12 in the third, including two separate runs of 12-4 and 9-0 to take the lead after three quarters of play.
Centre Cayla George drained two three-pointers in a 1:01 span in the third, filling the void left by Stokes’ absence. Wilson was also stellar in that quarter, scoring eight of her game-high 24 points, all of which were in consecutive baskets for the Aces down the stretch.
The sudden pendulum swing entering the fourth silenced the roaring New York crowd at the Barclays Center, leaving them stunned at what transpired. The Liberty supporters were also shellshocked that the offence, which was free-flowing and flashy in the first half, was stone cold in the second half.
From the end of the third quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Liberty offence went on a dry spell that included missing 13 of 15 field goal attempts, many of which were wide open and high percentage chances.
But the crowd in Brooklyn came back to life when Sabrina Ionescu nailed a three-pointer three-and-a-half minutes into the fourth, cutting the Las Vegas lead to two. Ionescu finished the game shooting three of seven from deep for 13 points.
From there, it was back-and-forth as both teams traded baskets and defensive stops setting up a nail-biting finish to the 27th WNBA season, one of the most successful seasons in league history.
With the New York faithful on their feet down one, the Liberty had a chance to write a storybook ending and send the game to a decisive game five.
With eight seconds left in the game, Brianna Stewart – who shot a disappointing 17.6 per cent from the field – received the in-bounds pass before being forced to swing the ball cross-court eventually finding Courtney Vandersloot in the dying seconds. Vandersloot, who led the Liberty in points with 19, shot up a prayer that rimmed out, giving the Aces the one-point win.
In the win, four of the Aces’ starters – A’ja Wilson, Alysha Clark, Cayla George and Jackie Young – finished in double figures in scoring, showing their well-balanced attack beyond just Wilson’s tenacity and strong physicality in the paint. The group also showed their hustle and relentlessness, fighting back from numerous deficits on the road to claim the second WNBA title in Las Vegas Aces franchise history.