Aces rally comes up short, lose Commissioner’s Cup title to Liberty

The Las Vegas Aces discovered how much adversity is too much.

Sabrina Ionescu scored a season-high 26 points and the New York Liberty held off rallies by the short-handed Las Vegas Aces, winning 93-85 in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup title game Tuesday night in New York.

The Aces were playing without center A’ja Wilson, who was nursing an ankle injury. In addition, Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray exited about a minute into the game following a head-to-head collision with Leonie Fiebich.

After trailing by 13 points at halftime, Jackie Young sparked Las Vegas’ second-half comeback with a game-high 31 points and seven assists. But that wasn’t enough to overcome the Liberty.

Ionescu added five rebounds and five assists for the Liberty, who took the lead for good with a 15-2 run in the final quarter.

The victory gave New York its second Commissioner’s Cup title, making the Liberty the first franchise to win multiple Cup championships.

Although Gray returned later in the quarter, she was limited to seven points while committing seven turnovers in the loss.

“There were some things that we could have handled easily, and we just didn’t,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “We had a couple of nice looks that didn’t go in. We needed one more player tonight to have a big game, and we weren’t able to do that tonight.

“I’m proud of the effort. I told them I don’t blow smoke. I give it to them straight, and I thought they really competed. I was proud of the way we buckled in and fought for each other.”

The Aces struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the opening half, scoring 37 points while failing to convert a 3-pointer. The Liberty controlled a 51-37 halftime lead.

Las Vegas then mounted a formidable comeback, taking a 71-69 lead three minutes into the fourth quarter. But the turning point came on the Liberty’s 15-2 fourth-quarter run over a three-minute span, putting the game away.

Liberty forward Breanna Stewart was awarded the Commissioner’s Cup MVP award, finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Stewart is the only player in WNBA history to earn three Commissioner’s Cup titles and two MVPs, earning her first with the Seattle Storm in 2021.

“(Stewart) hurt us,” Hammon said. “With her length, she is super disruptive on both ends of the floor when she is locked in.

“I’m always going to stamp for A’ja, but for Stewie, I could be effusive about that woman in the sense of how good I think she is. She is just a winner.”

Young’s 31 points were scored completely in the second half, including three 3-pointers.

“(Young) can score in a multitude of ways. She is just somebody who can be a load every time she touches the basketball, even on her off-ball cutting, Gray said. “She had the hot hand, and I was just trying to feed it to her as much as possible.

“She brought us back, and we took the lead. It is really on the defensive end that we didn’t get the stops that we needed in crucial moments.”

Up next

Who: Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Michelob Ultra Arena

TV: ION network.