On Wednesday night at a sold-out Barclays Center, the short-handed Las Vegas Aces were all grit and no quit as they vanquished the New York Liberty 70-69 to win the WNBA championship.
Buoyed by an amazing performance from Aces forward A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas completed the back-to-back championship run for the first time since the Los Angeles Sparks repeated in 2001 and 2002.
The Aces were down two rotation starters, with forward Kiah Stokes and guard Chelsea Gray sidelined with foot injuries. But, the Aces played with the urgent passion needed to win a championship on the road — with the same "do or die" spirit Brooklyn is known for.
The low-scoring first half had both teams missing layups, jump shots and free throws, with the Liberty going 36.1% (26-72) shooting from the field, 33.3% (9-27) from three and 66.7% (8-12) at the free throw line.
The 39-30 lead that the Liberty took into intermission was more trick than treat, as the Aces hammered out 22 paint points in the first half, compared to the Liberty’s 10, and played with urgency, as if they were the team on the brink of elimination.
In this season's playoffs, the league's Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart didn’t resemble the unstoppable performance she gave in the regular season. Stewart got outplayed by MVP runner-up A’ja Wilson, who finished game 5 with 24 points and 16 rebounds. All of Wilson’s 16 rebounds were on the defensive end, meaning Wilson ended 16 Liberty possessions by herself.
Reserves Alysha Clark (guard) and Cayla George (forward) played like starters for the Aces, as they replaced Gray and Stokes in the starting lineup. The game 5 victory was the Aces' first win at Barclays Center this season and was perfect timing for the squad, who seemed determined to win and celebrate in Brooklyn.
The Liberty lacked that distinctive Brooklyn energy needed to come back from the 0-2 deficit they picked up in Las Vegas, yet the Aces had that energy on the bench with coach Becky Hammon and on the court with players who refused to lose.
Lacking another stellar game from Jonquel Jones, who finished with just 6 points and her usual 10 rebounds, the Liberty wilted under the bright lights after the Jim Jones half-time show.
Las Vegas went on a 21-7 run from the 7:16 mark of the third to the 0:19.3 mark of the quarter, which set up a final frame that ended thoughts of a parade.
The Aces' one-point win on the road, with two starters out, showed that although both teams are “superteams,” one was a bit more super on Wednesday night.
