A'ja Wilson's spectacular performance, with 24 points and 16 rebounds, leads the Las Vegas Aces to a thrilling 70-69 victory over the New York Liberty, sealing a 3-1 series win; the Aces become the first team since the 2002 Los Angeles Sparks to claim consecutive WNBA titles.
A'ja Wilson's spectacular performance, with 24 points and 16 rebounds, leads the Las Vegas Aces to a thrilling 70-69 victory over the New York Liberty, sealing a 3-1 series win; the Aces become the first team since the 2002 Los Angeles Sparks to claim consecutive WNBA titles.
On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals to win their second consecutive championship.
Despite injuries to starters Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes, the Aces were able to clinch the series with an outstanding performance from superstar A'ja Wilson. Wilson finished the game with 24 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal, shooting 52.4% from the field. She was named the WNBA Finals MVP after averaging 21.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 50% shooting throughout the series.
With a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five series, the Aces became the first team to win back-to-back WNBA championships since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002.
Although the Liberty had a 12-point lead at one point, the Aces made a comeback and took the lead by the end of the third quarter. They scored six consecutive points to secure a 70-64 lead and held off the Liberty's final push, with Courtney Vandersloot missing a game-winning jumper at the buzzer.
Several other Aces players made significant contributions, including Cayla George (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 three-pointers) and Alysha Clark (10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists, shooting 57.1% from the field). Kelsey Plum struggled with her shooting, making only 2 of 12 attempts from the field and missing all four of her three-pointers. However, she found other ways to impact the game and finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal.
Courtney Vandersloot led the Liberty with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 three-pointers, and 1 steal, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory for New York. The Aces deserve credit for shutting down Breanna Stewart, who scored just 10 points and shot 3-of-17 (17.6%) from the field, missing all three of her three-point attempts.
The Aces had a dominant season, winning a league-best 34 games during the regular season and losing only one game in their playoff run (to the Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals).
Las Vegas had the top-ranked offense in the WNBA, scoring 113 points per 100 possessions, and the top-ranked defense, allowing only 97.7 points per 100 possessions during the regular season. They continued their strong performance in the postseason, leading all teams in offensive rating (108.1 points per 100 possessions) and defensive rating (92.7 points per 100 possessions).
A'ja Wilson celebrated with tears of joy as she hugged everyone on the court at Barclays Center. The 27-year-old, already accomplished in her career, felt immense pride in leading the injury-plagued Las Vegas Aces to a 70-69 victory and their second consecutive WNBA title.
During the postgame news conference, Wilson, surrounded by the entire Aces team and holding two bottles of champagne, expressed her emotions.
"This is a moment that we need to celebrate," said Wilson, who was named the WNBA Finals MVP after her impressive performance of 24 points and 16 rebounds in 39 minutes of play. "Not a lot of people get a chance to do it, and for us to do it short-handed is truly amazing. It just makes this win that much better.
"I'm going to get choked up ... this s--- wasn't easy."
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