The Las Vegas Aces took the first game of the WNBA Finals this Sunday by beating the New York Liberty 99-82, in a clash marked by the impressive performance of their three outside players: Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray , which added up to 72 points together.
It wasn’t just his scoring, but his generosity represented by Gray’s nine assists, who also contributed 20 points. He also made Young’s three-pointer effective with 62.5% accuracy from the perimeter, achieving his highest score in a playoff game with 26 points, the same as Plum’s.
Las Vegas started the game very well with Young playing a leading role, making a difference from three-point range, assisting, and quickly reaching eight points.
An initial statistic of 4 of 6 in triples by Las Vegas gave them control of the game early on, but they left the Liberty alive, who quickly recovered.
Johannes surprised from the bench
The contribution of the New York bench was key to returning to the game. Specifically, what the Frenchwoman Marine Johannes added with five quick points, a shot that lost its balance on the perimeter culminated the comeback and made the score 16-17 with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
This boosted the Liberty, with Johannes being the main headache for the locals, she scored more triples and reached eight points in the first quarter alone, which closed with 22-25 for the visitors.
Johannes was beyond any scouting work, his two successes out of three attempts on the triple were far from what had been seen up to that point in the Playoffs, with a poor 1/10 in the entire postseason.
The New Yorkers maintained the lead in the second quarter, until four minutes before halftime, a layup by Kelsey Plum culminated in their five consecutive points. The guard tied the score at 35-35 and forced Sandy Brondello’s team to go through a timeout.
Johannes’ third triple of four attempts came as soon as he left the huddle (35-38), and the Aces defense was blushing, no one counted on that Liberty offensive option and the visiting bench gave an ovation to its heroine of the moment.
Breanna Stewart was also encouraged to pitch. The bet on the triple was evident and it paid off. The balance was provided by Jonquel Jones with his actions closer to the rim, ending the first half with 12 points, compared to the 14 scored by Johannes.
At 46-49 we reached the break, when Plum was looking for the tie from the perimeter, but he took a block from Johannes that culminated his great performance of the first half.
Defense makes a difference for the Aces
The Aces regained the initiative on the scoreboard after a long time, two minutes into the third quarter, with a triple by Young that made the score 54-53.
Another game then began, with alternations in the lighting, but with Las Vegas exercising the home court factor, being very consistent in defense and with A’ja Wilson intimidating near the rim, in scoring and with blocks.
A basket with an additional free throw by Young with five seconds left in the third quarter put the locals seven points ahead (72-65), marking an excellent period. The Las Vegas guard was up to 24 points, 12 of them in this stretch.
The psychological barrier of ten points became a factor in the game, the Aces achieved it and maintained it, playing longer possessions and applying themselves especially in defense.
Chelsea Gray woke up in scoring, there were already too many active players to keep an eye on and this prevented the Liberty from finding a way to close the gap. The locals achieved the maximum advantage of the game with 92-71 with 4 to go.
The timeouts requested by New York did not serve to inspire a comeback, and thus the final 99-82 was reached, which summons both teams for next Wednesday for the second match of The Finals.
Tom Brady, one of the owners of the Aces, could be seen in the stands, as well as several NBA players such as Mikal Bridges and Ben Simmons, with LeBron James at the helm.
2023-10-09 07:41:53
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