Aces rally past Liberty to capture second straight WNBA championship – The Washington Post

NEW YORK — A’ja Wilson simply couldn’t be bothered. Before Wednesday night’s Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, the Las Vegas Aces’ star center showed little worry despite the fact that her team was missing two starters and hadn’t won at Barclays Center all season. During the game, she appeared to have one concern: willing her team to victory.
Mission accomplished. Wilson scored a game-high 24 points to go with 16 rebounds to lead the Aces to a 70-69 win that secured a 3-1 victory in the series, making Las Vegas the league’s first back-to-back champion since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. Wilson was named Finals MVP.
“We just kept the main thing the main thing, and we came out on top,” she told ESPN on the court immediately after the win. “I can’t express how proud I am of my teammates. They picked me up when I was down. We cried together, prayed together and now we’re popping champagne together.”
It hardly came easy. The Aces saw their six-point lead trimmed to one in the final seconds and survived only after Courtney Vandersloot missed what would have been a game-winner. It left Wilson and company dancing on the floor afterward.
“There’s a reason it hasn’t been done in that long of a time period,” Aces forward Alysha Clark said of repeating as champs. “It’s hard to do. It’s hard to get to the Finals multiple times. . . . You never know when you’re going to get this moment, when you’re going to get this opportunity — regardless of what team you have.”
Jackie Young added 16 points for Las Vegas, and Cayla George had 11. Clark chipped in a much-needed 10 points and eight rebounds. Kelsey Plum had an off shooting night (2 for 12) but contributed seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“This one’s sweeter,” Aces Coach Becky Hammon said. “It just is. It’s harder to do. We went from darling to villain real quick. We had our names, our good names slandered. And all these women did was lock in together. And that’s why I’m so confident. It’s because I know exactly who’s in that locker room. I know exactly who I’m going to war with every day. This is probably the tightest group I’ve ever been around. And they’re a special group. I don’t know what else you can throw at them.”
The Aces, the top seed in the playoffs after a dominant 34-6 regular season, trailed by nine at halftime but turned the game with a red-hot third quarter. They closed the period on an 18-5 run as Wilson and Clark took over while New York, the No. 2 seed after going 32-8, shot 5 for 20 in the period.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair, the tension ratcheting up with each possession and the Barclays Center crowd getting so loud that players were finding it difficult to hear.
Then the No. 1 picks went back to work. With the score knotted at 64, Young scored four straight points, including a nasty step-through layup. Then Wilson buried a turnaround jumper with a hand in her face with 1:26 remaining. The Aces wouldn’t score again, but their defense held firm when it had to.
Vandersloot, who had 19 points in her best game of the series, hit a three-pointer from the wing, and Sabrina Ionescu connected on an elbow jumper to make it a one-point game with 41.7 seconds remaining.
Wilson had a chance to make it a three-point game coming out of a timeout, but Breanna Stewart came to help and blocked her shot. The Liberty took a timeout with 8.8 seconds left to set up the final play.
“We knew that their game plan was going to be to junk it up and make it difficult, and that’s exactly what happened,” a disconsolate Stewart said. “[Didn’t get] stops when we needed it and couldn’t get anything to drop.”
Vandersloot added seven rebounds and six assists. Betnijah Laney scored 15, and Stewart was held to 10 points (on 3-for-17 shooting) and 14 rebounds. Jonquel Jones had a quiet night with six points and 11 rebounds.
“Of course we’re disappointed,” Liberty Coach Sandy Brondello said. “It would be nice to go and play a Game 5 and lay it all out on the table. Credit to Vegas; they were down, and they found a way. We fought, but it wasn’t our best game today.”
The Aces were without starting point guard Chelsea Gray and center Kiah Stokes, both sidelined with injuries. Gray left in the fourth quarter of Game 3 with a noncontact foot injury and arrived at Tuesday’s practice riding a medical scooter with a walking boot on her left foot. Stokes woke up Monday with pain and arrived at practice in a walking boot on her right foot and on crutches. The pair sat on the end of the bench with teammate Candace Parker, who had surgery on her fractured foot in July.
Gray, the 2022 Finals MVP, typically runs the show for the Aces — dictating the pace and flow as a five-time all-star and one of the best point guards in league history. She could be seen coaching from the sideline throughout the game.
Las Vegas started its usual trio of No. 1 picks in Wilson, Young and Plum but added Sixth Player of the Year Clark and center George, who made her first start of the year and the first postseason start of her career. She became just the second player in league history to make her first start of a season in the WNBA Finals.
The Aces came into Wednesday 0-3 at Barclays Center and trailed 39-30 at halftime.
Celebrity sightings included former WNBA star Sue Bird, rapper Fat Joe, former NFL player Nate Burleson, actor Jason Sudeikis, actress Issa Rae and author Fran Lebowitz. New York rappers Jim Jones and Juelz Santana performed at halftime.

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