'Three-peating is hard,' as the Las Vegas Aces are learning

“Did I say it was definitely winning? I'm lying,” Hammon said with a laugh. “At the end of the day, we didn't lose or win any championships. Nothing was won tonight. Now, do we have an uphill battle? Of course, we do. There's no doubt about it. However, New York What New York should do is defend their home court. We fully intend to push it to five games.”

The series shifts to the desert on Friday and the Liberty need just one win to advance to the championship series for the second straight season.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the bracket, the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx evened its series with a 77-70 win over the No. 3 Connecticut Sun on Tuesday. Those teams will also resume Friday in Uncasville, Conn.

The drama was high in New York, where Sabrina Ionescu scored 11 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter and continued to prove herself as one of the league's most improved players. The Aces pulled within one point with 2:01 left, then the 2020 No. 1 overall pick hit a runner, then a jumper, then a free throw to put the game away. Moments earlier, Aces guard Chelsea Gray shoved Ionescu into the front row of the crowd and into the arms of Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony. Before reaching the foul line, Ionescu looked back and gave Anthony a knowing smile.

He looks out into the crowd, mouth open in a gaping smile as he listens to the buzzer while raising a triumphant fist reminiscent of Michael Jordan.

“In big moments, he really steps up,” Liberty center Jonkel Jones said. “He doesn't shy away from moments and just the confidence he has in himself and the confidence we have as teammates to go out there and make those big shots. My job is simple. I get her open and I'm available and I let her do her thing. Just like he's just a superstar and someone who really shines in the biggest moments.”

“Sabrina was huge down the stretch,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello added.

The Aces haven't lost a playoff series since Hammon was hired before the 2022 season and are in more danger now than at any other time during their dominant run. The organization is chasing history as neither the WNBA, NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL has won three consecutive titles since 2002. Hammon has consistently said the Liberty have been a hungry and focused team all season — and said his team may have lost its edge.

“That's why three-peating is hard,” Hammon said. “The whole league has been in turmoil for the last eight months, and my players are making fun of commercials and this and that and celebrities and you're distracted. That's why it's hard, because human nature is confusing.”

The Aces looked like a desperate team early and determined to strike first, leading 27-22 after the first quarter, but it didn't last. New York went on a 13-2 run that spanned the quarter and Hammon burned two timeouts. After the second, he was demonstrative with some choice words for his team and then sat on the bench without speaking as he huddled with his players. He eventually joined the team.

The night was similar to Game 1 in many ways. Frequent ace turnovers — 11 in the first half — put Liberty out for easy buckets in transition. Ionescu had the biggest moment, but the Liberty provided a group effort: Stewart finished with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds while Jones added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Courtney Vandersloot scored 12 points and Kayla Thornton nine, both off the bench.

A'ja Wilson scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Aces, and Jackie Young scored 17. Kelsey Plum struggled after his outstanding Game 1 with 2-for-9 shooting.

Next, in Minneapolis, the Lynx led most of its game and point guard Courtney Williams hit big shots in the fourth quarter before finishing with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Alanna Smith scored 15 points as MVP runner-up Nafeesa Collier played 40 minutes to nine points (but grabbed 12 boards).

Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Dewanna Bonner finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five steals. But the Suns scored just four points off the bench and shot just 36.4 percent from the field.

Aces will be crowned new champions if they fail to pull off a historic comeback. No team in WNBA history has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five series. And this is a Liberty team hyper-focused on avenging their loss to the Aces in the 2023 final.

“It's great to be 2-0 up, but we didn't win anything,” said Ionescu. “I think everyone knows that. We did what we were supposed to do. Two wins at home. But it's not like we're patting ourselves on the back and celebrating and talking about how happy we are.

“This is not what we came for. We didn't just come to win two matches at home and then be satisfied. We are a hungry team. Obviously, we are satisfied with the way we came out today. … Now they have a great opportunity to go on home court and take that first one. That's our goal and that's where we're going.”