The New York Liberty put the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on the brink of elimination with an 88-84 victory in Game 2 of their semifinal series on Tuesday night. Sabrina Ionescu led the way for the Liberty with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists, including some big baskets down the stretch. The Liberty now have a 2-0 lead, and since best-of-five series were introduced in 2005, no team has ever blown such an advantage.
In the other semifinal series, we’re all tied up at 1-1 after the Minnesota Lynx responded with a 77-70 win over the Connecticut Sun. Courtney Williams, who had a rough Game 1 along with most of the Lynx’s scorers, bounced back with 17 points, while Alanna Smith added 15 and Napheesa Collier chipped in nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
The semifinals will continue on Friday night with a pair of Game 3s from Las Vegas and Uncasville.
Playoff format
The teams will play Game 2 at the same venues Tuesday night before moving to Las Vegas and Connecticut for Game 3 and a possible Game 4. Game 5, if necessary, would be played back in the same arena for Games 1 and 2. The 2-2-1 format will be the same for the WNBA Finals.
Semifinals (best-of-five)
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 29 (Game 1s)
- Liberty 87, Aces 77 (Liberty, 1-0)
- Sun 73, Lynx 70 (Sun, 1-0)
Tuesday, Oct. 1 (Game 2s)
- Liberty 88, Aces 84 (Liberty, 2-0)
- Lynx 77, Sun 70 (Series tied, 1-1)
Friday, Oct. 4 (Game 3s)
- No. 2 Minnesota Lynx at No. 3 Connecticut Sun, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN2
- No. 1 New York Liberty at No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, 9:30 p.m. — ESPN2
Sunday, Oct. 6 (Game 4s)
- No. 1 New York Liberty at No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, TBD — TBD*
- No. 2 Minnesota Lynx at No. 3 Connecticut Sun, TBD — TBD
Tuesday, Oct. 8 (Game 5s)
- No. 4 Las Vegas Aces at No. 1 New York Liberty, TBD — ESPN2*
- No. 3 Connecticut Sun at No. 2 Minnesota Lynx, TBD — ESPN2*
*If necessary
Finals (best-of-five)
All information to be announced
First round (best-of-three)
Sunday, Sept. 22 (Game 1s)
- Liberty 83, Dream 69 (Liberty, 1-0)
- Sun 93, Fever 69 (Sun, 1-0)
- Lynx 102, Mercury 95 (Lynx, 1-0)
- Aces 78, Storm 67 (Aces, 1-0)
Tuesday, Sept. 24 (Game 2s)
- Liberty 91, Dream 82 (Liberty win, 2-0)
- Aces 83, Storm 76 (Aces win, 2-0)
Wednesday, Sept. 25 (Game 2s)
- Sun 87, Fever 81 (Sun win, 2-0)
- Lynx 101, Mercury 88 (Lynx win, 2-0)
