Ionescu's 24 points lead Liberty past Aces for 2-0 series lead
Star guard takes over game as New York moves 1 win away from WNBA Finals
Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points and the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 88-84 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.
Game 3 is Friday night in Las Vegas, with the two-time defending champion Aces trying to avoid being knocked out by the team they beat in the WNBA Finals last year.
No team has rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-five playoff series in WNBA postseason history. Only Phoenix was able to force a Game 5 in 2018 against Seattle.
Hayes hit the first of two free throws to make it a one-point game. New York secured the rebound and Ionescu got fouled with 11.6 seconds left and also only hit one free throw to make it 84-82.
Las Vegas had a chance to tie it, but the ball went out of bounds on the sideline with 10.5 to play and after New York challenged the call that it was the Aces' ball, the officials overturned the decision and gave the Liberty the ball.
Ionescu then hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game. A'ja Wilson answered with a jumper with 5.6 left for the final margin before Breanna Stewart hit two free throws less than a second later to seal the win.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/sabrina_i20?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sabrina_i20</a> is REALLY good at basketball 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/4FmdvzjCtF">pic.twitter.com/4FmdvzjCtF</a>
—@nylibertyStewart finished with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Liberty.
Wilson scored 24 points and Jackie Young added 17 for the Aces.
Lynx even series with Sun
WATCH: Williams scores 17 in Lynx win:
Courtney Williams scored 17 points and Alanna Smith had 15 points to help the Minnesota Lynx offset an off night for star Napheesa Collier and beat the Connecticut Sun 77-70 to even the best-of-five WNBA semifinal series at one game apiece on Tuesday.
Collier, who scored 80 points in the two-game sweep of Phoenix in the first round, was held to nine points on 3-for-14 shooting. She led the Lynx with 12 rebounds and five assists, content to let her supporting cast lead the charge past a feisty opponent.
