Liberty just one win from WNBA Finals as Sabrina Ionescu's late heroics secure Game 2 victory over Aces

Becky Hammon didn’t need a math degree to know that the odds of surviving the semis against the powerful, determined, top-seeded Liberty would become rather long if Las Vegas fell into a hole two games deep.

“It’s do or die,” the Aces’ coach said after Game 1 Sunday at Barclays Center.

Indeed, no WNBA team has ever climbed out of that deep a hole in a best-of-five.

And so the Liberty have put themselves in a great spot.

They went out in front of their high-decibel, towel-waving crowd of 14,321 Tuesday night and emerged with their second straight win to start the series. The Liberty survived a sweaty finish to take an 88-84 decision over fourth-seeded Las Vegas.

“Being up 2-0 is great, but we haven’t won anything,” Sabrina Ionescu said. “I think everyone knows that. We did what we were supposed to do, which was to protect home court, winning two at home.

“But it’s not like we’re patting ourselves on the back and celebrating and talking about how happy we are. This isn’t what we came to do. We didn’t come to just win two games at home and be satisfied. We’re a hungry group.”

Ionescu was at the forefront, scoring seven of her 24 points in the final 1:45. She also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists.

Breanna Stewart delivered 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Jonquel Jones had 14 points and eight rebounds. And the bench provided a large lift, with Courtney Vandersloot scoring 12 and Kayla Thornton adding nine. A’ja Wilson topped the Aces with 24 points.

And so the Liberty need one more victory for their entry pass to the Finals for the second straight year after falling to the Aces in the title round last time around. They can clinch as soon as Friday night when the series shifts to Vegas for Game 3.

“Let there be no doubt: They’re the best team in the league,” Hammon said. “They’ve played it all year, just like we were last year. . . . They’ve been the best team this year because of their habits, because of their edge that they’ve had the entire year [and] their incredible attention to detail.”

Hammon was fuming about her own team allowing too many layups and committing 11 turnovers that led to 20 points in the first half.

“It was the Aces vs. the Aces tonight,” Hammon said. “We were beating ourselves.”

Alysha Clark’s three-pointer tied it for Las Vegas at 81 with 1:31 left. But Ionescu responded with a 12-foot jumper for the lead.

“Obviously, I want to take those shots, make or miss,” Ionescu said. “Something I’ve always done my entire career is made a lot of big shots, missed a lot of big shots. My teammates are always continuing to just pour into me. They need me in that moment. They know that I’m built for it.”

Tiffany Hayes was fouled by Ionescu with 16.9 seconds while going after a jump ball. Hayes made the first, but missed the second.

Ionescu grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 11.6 remaining. Ionescu missed the first and made the second — 84-82 Liberty.

“Sabrina was massive down the stretch there,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.

After an Aces timeout, Chelsea Gray had a turnover on a pass that went out of bounds, with the Liberty getting the ball on a successful challenge. Ionescu was fouled and made it a four-point game.

Wilson cut it to 86-84 with a 14-footer. But Stewart clinched it, sinking two free throws with five seconds left.

“We made big plays when needed to,” Ionescu said. “ . . . We got big stops.”

The Liberty extended a 46-40 halftime lead to 10 twice in the first three minutes of the third. But Las Vegas hung in and had it down to 61-57 on a Jackie Young three.

Vandersloot provided a nice sequence late in the period, blocking a shot by Young underneath and then nailing a three, putting the Liberty up 67-58. They carried a 69-62 advantage into the final 10 minutes.

“I’m happy that we protected home court because we worked all season to be in this position,” Jones said. “Now we have to go to Vegas and do it again.”