The WNBA Finals typically give the two best teams in the league a chance to show why they made it to the series. After two games in the books, the Las Vegas Aces have held up their end of the bargain by blowing out the New York Liberty in both games.
According to ESPN, after beating their New York rivals by 17 points in the opening game of the series, the Aces came back even stronger and beat
the Liberty by 28 points to take a commanding 2-0 lead (104-76) on Oct. 11. This leaves them one game away from returning as WNBA champions for a second year.The Aces are primed to become the first team since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks to win the championship for two straight years. And the Liberty could actually make history if they can find a way to put together a three-game winning streak. No team in WNBA Finals history has come back from being down 0-2 to win the title. In fact, teams that have taken the first two games in a best-of-five playoff series are 17-0 all-time.
In the Finals, every team, except one that has trailed the series 0-2 in eight series, has been swept.
The Aces’ stellar play has left their coach in awe.
“They don’t leave me speechless very often, but they executed defensively, offensively shared it,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Everything we’ve been asking them to do … they’re the real deal. Their competitiveness and their fight for each other, they’re a real team.”
Las Vegas made history in Game 2 when they became the first team to shoot 50% from the field and 40% from 3 in back-to-back Finals games. Another milestone was reached when the Aces’ Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, A’Ja Wilson, and Jackie Young combined for 91 points in the Game 1 win and 87 points in Game 2. That combined total of 178 points is the most by a quartet of teammates in a two-game span in WNBA playoffs history.
ESPN says this series is the most-watched WNBA Finals in 20 years, averaging 680,000 viewers.
Game 3 takes place on Oct. 15 at New York City’s Barclays Center at 3 p.m. ET.
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