Becky Hammon made it clear after Las Vegas’ Game 1 loss that Tuesday’s game would be do-or-die. Technically, the Aces wouldn’t be eliminated with a second defeat, but in the history of the WNBA playoffs, teams are 0-18 when trailing 0-2 in a best-of-five series.
Of course, Las Vegas hasn’t lost a series of any kind since Hammon took over as head coach for the 2022 season, so one streak or another will break in the coming days as New York held homecourt advantage and took a 2-0 lead with a 88-84 win. Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 24 points for the Liberty, and Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot also finished in double figures.
As was the case in Game 1 when New York made 16 layups, the Liberty once again had a huge (literally) advantage inside, winning the points in the paint battle 44-24. There were nine lead changes in the first half, but New York ended the second quarter on a 9-0 run and didn’t trail the rest of the way; the Liberty are now 27-0 this season when leading at halftime.
The series now moves to Las Vegas, where the Aces were dominant a year ago but lost twice to the Liberty in 2024. New York is just one win away from its sixth trip to the WNBA Finals in franchise history.
This will be updated.
(Photo: David L. Nemec / Getty Images)
