NEW YORK (AP) — 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. The game was tied at 81 before Ionescu hit a jumper with 1:15 left to give New York a two-point lead. Both teams had chances before Ionescu fouled Tiffany Hayes with 16.
9 seconds remaining off of a jump ball. 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.
Stewart finished with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Liberty. Wilson scored 24 points and Jackie Young a.