The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are a loss away from elimination after dropping Game 2 88-84 to the New York Liberty on Tuesday at Barclays Center. No WNBA team has ever come back from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series, and no defending champion has ever been in this position.
The matchup is a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals, which the Aces won 3-1. Since a championship-sealing 70-69 Game 4 victory in Brooklyn last season, Las Vegas has lost five consecutive games against New York. The losing streak ties the franchise record for consecutive losses against the same opponent.
On the other side of the ball, the Liberty’s five consecutive wins over the Aces are a franchise single-season record against an opponent.
The top-seeded Liberty have never won a WNBA championship, but they have been to the WNBA Finals five times. WNBA teams are 18-0 in playoff history when leading 2-0 in a best-of-5 series.
The WNBA playoffs continue Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the semifinal series shift to Las Vegas and Connecticut.
ESPN looks at how the Liberty won Game 2.
Liberty lead best-of-five series 2-0
0:17
Sabrina Ionescu’s jumper gives Liberty late lead
Sabrina Ionescu hits a tough jump shot to put the Liberty ahead late in the fourth quarter against the Aces.
Don’t write off the Aces
It’s worth remembering the sample of WNBA series that started 2-0 is small and reflects many that weren’t this close. New York won the first two games by 14 points, and just four of the previous 18 featured a combined margin that small — including the last time a team rallied to force Game 5, Phoenix against Seattle in the 2018 semifinals.
When the NBA had best-of-5 series, we saw six 2-0 comebacks, per ESPN Research. By that .111 win percentage (6-102), we’re overdue for a similar WNBA comeback. We’ll see if Las Vegas can be that team. — Kevin Pelton
Have the Liberty officially become Sabrina Ionescu’s team?
When New York’s superteam came together ahead of the 2023 season, the arrival of three high-profile newbies — Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot — in Brooklyn dominated headlines.
Ionescu, however, has emerged as a dominant offensive force in the 2024 postseason. She led the Liberty with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, making her the only player in Liberty history with multiple postseason 20-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist games. What made Ionescu’s performance stand out Tuesday (aside from the super stuffed stat line) was her impact in the fourth quarter, where she scored or assisted on 16 of New York’s 19 points. The Liberty looked to her to lead and she delivered. — Katie Barnes
Game 2 was more competitive than the series opener. What was the difference?
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, when asked what she liked about her team’s play in the first half, said, “I liked the second quarter.” She should have. That’s where New York won the game. The Aces were the better team for the other 30 minutes, but in the second quarter New York exhibited why it was the best team in the WNBA in the regular season. The Liberty outscored Las Vegas 24-13. Stewart scored or assisted on 13 of those points, the strategy of making the two-time MVP as facilitator paying off (she finished with 8 assists). Five New York players scored, and it was when Ionescu came alive with two massive 3-pointers in the final 1:45 of the half.
The defense also created 8 Las Vegas turnovers and allowed just five field goals in the second quarter. — Charlie Creme