The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are one loss from elimination after dropping Game 2 88-84 to the New York Liberty in the WNBA semifinals at Barclays Center on Tuesday. No WNBA team has ever come from an 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series, and no defending champion has ever done so.
The series was a rematch of the 2023 final, which the Aces won 3–1. After a championship-sealing 70-69 Game 4 win in Brooklyn, Las Vegas has lost five games in a row against New York. The skid ties the franchise record for consecutive losses against the same opponent.
The top-seeded Liberty have never won the championship, but they have reached the final five times. WNBA teams are 18-0 in playoff history when they lead 2-0 in best-of-five series.
On the other side of the bracket, the Minnesota Lynx evened the series with the Connecticut Sun with a 77-70 win at the Target Center.
The playoffs continue Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the semifinal series shifts to Las Vegas and Connecticut.
ESPN takes a look at how the Liberty moved one win away from sweeping the Aces and how the Lynx held the court against the Suns on Tuesday.
The Liberty lead the best-of-five series 2-0
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A’jah Wilson passes Breanna Stewart for a bucket
Aja Wilson passes Brianna Stewart with a pleasingly flashy move for the Aces bucket against the Liberty.
Do not write slips
It’s worth remembering that the sample of WNBA series that started 2-0 is small and represents many that haven’t been this close. New York won these first two games by 14 points and had a combined margin in just four of the previous 18 contests — the only time a team rallied to force a Game 5, including a series tie against the Phoenix Mercury. The Seattle Storm during the 2018 semifinals.
During the NBA’s best-of-five series, we saw six 2-0 comebacks, according to ESPN research. At that 5.6% win rate (6-102), we’re overdue for a similar WNBA comeback. Let’s see if Las Vegas can be that team. — Kevin Belton
Has the Liberty officially become Sabrina Ionescu’s team?
As New York’s super team came together ahead of the 2023 season, the arrival of three high-profile freshmen in Brooklyn — Breanna Stewart, Janquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot — dominated the headlines.
However, Ionescu has emerged as a dominant attacking force in the 2024 postseason. She led the Liberty with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists on Tuesday, making her the only player in Liberty history with multiple postseason 20-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist games. Ionescu’s performance in Game 2 (besides the super-stuffed Stat line) made him stand out, when he scored or assisted on 16 of New York’s 19 points in the fourth quarter. Independence saw To guide her, she offered. — Katie Barnes
Game 2 was more competitive than the series opener. What’s the difference?
“I liked the second quarter,” Liberty coach Sandy Brontello said when asked what he appreciated about his team’s performance in the first half of Game 2. She should have. That’s when the New York team won. The Aces were the better team for the rest of the 30 minutes, but in the second quarter, New York showed why it was the better team in the regular season. The Liberty beat Las Vegas 24-13. Stewart scored or assisted on 13 of those points, with the two-time MVP making it easy. (He finished with eight assists.) Five New York players scored, and Ionescu came alive with two big 3-pointers with 1:45 left in the half.
Liberty’s defense forced eight Las Vegas turnovers and allowed just five field goals in the second quarter. — Charlie Cream
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Alana Smith buried the sun in the 3rd triple of the game
Alana Smith buried her third three-pointer in the fourth quarter to keep the Suns out.
The best-of-five series is tied 1-1
Can Briona Jones go by the sun?
Last year, the Suns went into the postseason without a key piece of their identity after Briona Jones suffered an Achilles injury in June. Bringing in Marina Mabrey this season gave the Suns hope that they could once again win a championship indoors.
Jones is not leading the series yet. In Game 1, he had six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes; In Game 2, he played 13 minutes and sat out the entire fourth quarter.
The Suns are at their best when Jones makes an impact on both ends, and we saw what that looks like in September when he scored at least 17 points in seven straight games. Facing Minnesota’s interior defense of Collier, Alana Smith and Mysha Hines-Allen could be incredibly difficult, but if the Suns can find ways to slow down the Lynx, it will look elsewhere on the court. — Alexa Filippo
Did Connecticut miss a golden opportunity?
If Stephanie White had been told before Game 2 that her team would take on the league’s MVP runner-up Nabeesa Collier, she would have averaged 33.0 points on 3-of-14 shooting through her first three playoff games. success White ran over several defenders at Collier, whose nine points tied for a season low. But Connecticut’s offensive output didn’t match the defensive effort, and the Lynx were able to overcome their star’s off night.
A one-game win is enough to start a best-of-five streak. Still, it feels like the Suns — given the work they’ve done to slow down Collier — let slip an opportunity to seize control of the series. — Cream
Is Minnesota’s depth vital to another championship run?
On a night when Collier struggled with an attack, as Charlie mentioned, she got the help she needed. Three Minnesota starters were in double figures, and everyone who played for the Lynx scored at least four points in at least 12 minutes. Courtney Williams, who spent most of her career in a Suns uniform, was particularly influential. He led the Lynx with a team-high 17 points and also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
Minnesota won four championships in seven years, most recently in 2017, with a roster of future Hall of Famers. This edition of the Lynx is structured differently, but is two wins away from returning to the finals. — Barnes
