BROOKLYN, NY (Oct. 1, 2024)—A late push by the Las Vegas Aces fell short in an 88-84 defeat to the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals Tuesday night in Brooklyn. The Aces, who now trail the Liberty 2-0 in the best-of-5 series, must win three straight games in order to keep their 3-peat hopes alive. A’ja Wilson, who scored 12 points in the final stanza, finished with a team-high 24 points and 7 rebounds; Jackie Young had 17 points and 6 boards; Chelsea Gray scored 14 and handed out 5 dimes; Alysha Clark added 13 points and Tiffany Hayes chipped in 10.
New York was led by Sabrina Ionescu’s 24 points.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 27, New York 22)
After 5 lead changes, the Aces went up 13-12 on a Gray 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. Las Vegaswas up as many as 8, 27-19, at 1:07 and retained the lead through the first 3:06 of the second quarter. The Aces shot 10 of 17 (.588) from the field, 9 of which were assisted, and 5 of 8 (.625) from 3-point range; while the Liberty made 9 of 18 (.500) of their shots overall and just 2 of 7 (.286) from distance. The Liberty outscored the Aces 14-4 in the paint. Gray scored a quarter-high 10 points for the Aces and Courtney Vandersloot checked in for 7 for the Liberty.
Second Quarter Highlights (New York 46, Las Vegas 40)
The Aces turned the ball over 4 times in the first 3:28, which the Liberty flipped into 8 points over a 10-2 run. The Liberty broke a 40-40 tie with 1:18 to play in the first half on a traditional 3-point play to move ahead 43-40. In all, the Aces gave up 16 points off their 8 second-quarter turnovers, while picking up just 6 points from the Liberty’s 4 miscues. The Liberty outscored the Aces 14-6 in the paint. The Liberty upped their shooting to 58.8% in the quarter, while the Aces made 33.3% of their shots from the floor. Hayes had a high of 6 points and Kayla Thornton scored 9 for the Liberty.
Third Quarter Highlights (New York 69, Las Vegas 62)
The Liberty were up 10, 55-45, at 7:12, but the Aces reeled it back to 4, 61-57, with 3:16 to play in the quarter. The Liberty, however, finished it out with a pair of 3s on an 8-5 spurt. The Aces made 42.1% of their shots from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point, while the Liberty countered with 44.4% shooting and 3 of 8 from distance. Young scored 9 to lead the Aces and Jonquel Jones had 6 for the Liberty.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (New York 88, Las Vegas 84)
Las Vegas cut the score to 74-72 with 5:23 to play and knotted it up at 81-all with 1:31 remaining. But a Liberty bucket 16 seconds later gave New York the lead for good. With the Aces forced to foul, New York scored 5 of 6 from the line down the stretch, while the Aces got just one final field goal from Wilson. The Liberty shot 42.9% in the final frame, while the Aces hit on 38.9% of their attempts. Wilson’s 12 points paced all scorers and Ionescu netted 11 for the Liberty.
KEY STATS
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The Aces shot 30 of 69 from the field (.435), and 12 of 27 from 3-point range (.444), while the Liberty made 33 of 67 (.493) overall and 9 of 29 (.310) from distance.
The Liberty scored 13 points off their 19 trips to the line and the Aces were 12 of 19 from the stripe.
The Liberty outscored the Aces 44-24 in points in the paint.
The Aces outscored the Liberty 18-11 on second chance points.
New York outrebounded Las Vegas 35-29.
The Aces gave up 22 points on 13 turnovers, while flipping New York’s 12 miscues into 14 points.
GAME NOTES
Kiah Stokes was injured with less than 10 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter and did not return to the game. She was diagnosed with a potential concussion.
Wilson now has 811 playoff points which are the 13th most in WNBA playoff history. Stewart (821) and Brittney Griner (834) are next on the list. No. 10 is Deanna Nolan with 867.
Chelsea Gray scored 14 points and now has 746 which are the 14th most in WNBA playoff history.
Wilson now has 21 playoff games with 20+ points, which are tied with Lisa Leslie for 8th most in WNBA playoff history. Seventh on the list is Deanna Nolan with 22.
Wilson has scored in double figures in 20 consecutive postseason games which is the 12th longest streak in WNBA history. Diana Taurasi is next on the list with 22 straight double digit scoring efforts.
Wilson now has 400 rebounds in postseason play, good for No. 9 in WNBA history. Jonquel Jones is No. 8 with 401 and No. 7 is Sylvia Fowles with 426.
Wilson (6 defensive rebounds) now has 316 postseason defensive boards which are the 6th most in WNBA history. Lisa Leslie is next on the list with 344.
Gray now has 289 assists in the postseason which are the 5th most in league history behind No. 4 Diana Taurasi (296).
Plum made 2 shots from 3-point range, giving her 74 in her postseason career which are the 13th most in WNBA history. Katie Smith is next on the list with 78.
Wilson’s 11 made 2-pointers brought her career playoff total to 302, which moves her past Lindsay Whalen (299) and into 5th place on the WNBA’s career playoff list for made 2-point field goals. Next up on the list is No. 4 Seimone Augustus (324).
NEXT UP
The Aces return home for Games 3 and (if necessary) 4 of their WNBA Semifinals series against the Liberty. Game 3 is slated for Friday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 pm PT on ESPN2, while Game 4 will take place on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 12 pm on ABC. Game 5, if necessary, will return the teams to Brooklyn Tuesday, Oct. 8 on ESPN2 (time TBD).