LAS VEGAS — Everywhere New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu looked during an attack on Friday, there was a Las Vegas Aces defender on top of her.
“They didn’t give me the light of day,” Ionescu said.
Las Vegas avoided elimination with a 95-81 victory in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinal series against New York. That was mainly due to improved defense and a greater sense of urgency.
Ionescu has not scored a point just once in his WNBA career in 2021, but the Aces nearly did that on Friday. Her only points came on a free throw and 3-pointer after a technical foul on the Aces in the fourth quarter.
Editor’s picks
2 Related
“Things are changing every game in the series,” Ionescu said. “They lost two games, so I was able to get off screens and pick guys apart offensively. So I think in this game you saw the adjustments they made, two or three guys at a time. He sent me to the ball and didn’t let me do anything easy.” No matter what happened, there were always three people in front of me.
Ace coach Becky Hammon said she gave her team’s defense an “A-plus”, especially against Ionescu. The Liberty team’s field goal percentage was only 38.8%, compared to 52.1% for the Aces.
“I think we were being proactive and just trying to stir up a stir and make Sabrina uncomfortable,” Hammon said.
Entering Friday, the Aces had lost five straight against New York. The first three games of the regular season and the first two games of this series in Brooklyn.
“There was very little chance we could go 6-0 against them this year,” Ionescu said. “That would have been really impressive. They’re back-to-back champions. We’re still up 2-1 and we’ve always bounced back well from losses.”
Liberty, which went 32-8 in the regular season, knew from Friday where its ace would be. New York was in the same position last year when the two teams met in the WNBA Finals. The Aces won the first two games at home, then the Liberty won Game 3 in New York.
Forward Brianna Stewart, who led New York with 19 points, said, “That’s when a team is at its most dangerous, when it has its back against the wall and throws everything at us.” “They came out and did what they had to do tonight. The conversation in the locker room afterward was that Game 4 was coming up very, very quickly and we needed to be on our toes.”
The teams will meet again on Sunday at 3:00 pm ET (noon local time) at Michelob Ultra Arena. The game will be televised on ABC.
The Liberty hopes the pattern of last season’s playoff battle with the Aces remains the same, with the series ending in four games. If that happens, New York will try to win its sixth WNBA championship.
In contrast, the Aces hope to continue their historic rally from trailing 0-2 in the series and continue chasing a three-peat, something no previous WNBA team has been able to accomplish.
League MVP A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Las Vegas. The Aces’ starting guard trio of Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young combined for 54 points and 13 assists.
“Defensively, we were very solid,” Gray said. “And offensively, if we can get (defensemen like that) and run fast breaks and second options, it’s not just wide-open layups. They’re going to catch up.”
