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, hungry, 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.

Actually, no WNBA team has ever climbed out of that hole in a best-of-five. Sandy Brondello just wanted to make sure her players weren’t taking anything for granted.

“We haven’t won anything yet,” the Liberty coach said before Game 2 Tuesday night.

But they have now won two in a row to start the series, taking advantage of their home-court advantage in front of their high-decibel, towel-waving fan base again and emerging with a sweaty 88-84 win over fourth-seeded Las Vegas.

Sabrina 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 had 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Jonquel Jones had 14 points and eight rebounds. And Courtney Vandersloot contributed 12 points off the bench. A’ja Wilson topped the Aces with 24 points.

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

“Yes, we have a scar [from last year], but that’s just a reminder of what we felt like,” Brondello said. “We don’t want to go back there, so what are we going to do about it?”

They didn’t come close in the first two games against the Aces on the road in the Finals last year, then were eliminated at Barclays Center in Game 4, although they didn’t have 6-4 wing Leonie Fiebich in the 2023 mix.

But they did take both their regular-season games this year at Vegas on the way to going 3-0 against the Aces.

“At the end of the day, when we’re talking about New York, they went and got better,” Hammon said. “Adding [6-4 Leonie] Fiebich, first of all, they get gigantic. They’re huge. And they don’t lose any shooting. They gain shooting. I mean, what a luxury. That’s a tribute to them.

“So they’re an extra handful. They have been all year. And they have edge, a mindset.”

They have an extra-motivated superstar in Breanna Stewart who scored 34 in Game 1.

The two-time MVP had an up-and-down postseason last year, capped by her 3-for-17, 10-point effort in the finale of the Finals. She also passed instead of taking the last shot in that one-point loss, something she regretted.

“Obviously, we’re all motivated,” Brondello said. “… She took a lot on her shoulders, but it wasn’t Stewie. We all weren’t good enough in that game.”

They were good enough in this game Tuesday, though.

Wilson scored the first four points of the fourth to chip the Liberty’s lead down to 69-66. Ionescu responded with a floater and Jones drained a straight-on three. It was an eight-point game, and Hammon wanted a timeout.

The Aces hung in. Alysha Clark’s three-pointer tied it at 81. But Ionescu responded with a 12-foot jumper for the lead with 1:15 on the clock.

Tiffany Hayes was fouled by Ionescu with 16.9 seconds to go 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.

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.

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

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