WNBA Playoffs: The Aces do their job and now a semifinal rematch against Liberty is on the agenda

The Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty are ready for a rematch.

Last year, the two teams met in the WNBA Finals, with Las Vegas winning its second straight title, defeating New York 3-1 in the series. This season, the clash comes in the second round after the No. 1 Liberty swept the No. 8 Dream and the No. 4 Aces did the same to the No. 5 Storm, winning 83-76 in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

It comes at a different time in the playoffs, but the Aces expect the same intensity and an even better Liberty team.

“New York is much better than last year,” Kelsey Plum said. “Simply. They’re bigger. They’ve thrown the ball faster. Pound for pound, individually, if you go down the line, they’re all better players.”

They have also beaten Las Vegas three times this season.

“They played like a pissed off team,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said of the 32-8 Liberty. “They played with grit. And we worked our way up there. I feel like we’ve regained our grit in the last three to four weeks.”

Despite a season of ups and downs, the defending champions Aces are happy with their situation. After securing the No. 1 seed in 2022 and 2023, Las Vegas faces a more challenging path to a potential third straight victory, a feat not accomplished since the Houston Comets, who won four in a row from 1997-2000.

Las Vegas looked like a contender against Seattle. In Game 1, the Aces held the Storm to just two points in the fourth quarter and used their strong defensive performance to cruise to the win. And in Game 2, it was a hot start that laid the foundation for the win. The Aces led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter and hit 5 of 6 three-point shots. The Storm caught up, but the deficit was too big to overcome.

“We know what it takes (to win),” A’ja Wilson said. “We know we can’t let the game slip away because we’ve been on the other side. We know what that feels like. It’s all about fighting through, being on the same page and keeping your eyes on the most important thing.”

Wilson was a key part of the win over Seattle, as she has been in every Aces game this season. While various aspects of the Aces’ offense have been inconsistent, Wilson has been a constant. Her 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game earned Wilson her third MVP award, and her 24 points and 13 rebounds on Tuesday helped Las Vegas advance to the semifinals.

Las Vegas also benefited from Plum, who rebounded from a poor performance in Game 1. On Sunday, Plum scored just 2 points and made 1 of 8 field shots. But between Games 1 and 2, Plum sat at a sushi bar and gave herself a mental motivational speech.

“I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to throw the whole game out the window,'” Plum said. “And it worked.”

Plum finished Game 2 with 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting, making him Las Vegas’ top scorer.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the Aces, who struggled at times during the regular season, and the Aces who beat the Storm is Chelsea Gray.

Gray missed the first 12 games of the season due to a foot injury sustained during the 2023 WNBA Finals. She returned before the Olympic break and then helped Team USA to a gold medal, but it took almost the entire season for Gray to look like the player who was named Finals MVP in 2022.

Against Seattle, the Aces got Gray at her best. In Game 1, she finished with 16 points and seven assists, and in Game 2, the veteran point guard had 12 points and nine assists. But most importantly, she’s making – and hitting – the kind of highly complex shots that have carried Las Vegas through the past two postseasons.

“Chelsea have influence over the win,” Plum said. “And ask any top player in the league and I guarantee you they’d want Chelsea Gray in their team with five minutes to go in a tie. They’d pick them any day. I mean, I certainly would.”

New York knows what to expect when Gray is fully healthy. Before her foot injury last season, Gray led Las Vegas to two wins over the Liberty, finishing with 20 points and 9 assists and then with 14 points and 11 assists.

The Liberty also have Wilson, Plum and Jackie Young. But they have their own stars, including two former MVPs in Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart and one of the league’s brightest young stars in Sabrina Ionescu.

Both teams are playing their best basketball. It may be a second-round matchup, but the semifinal series between Las Vegas and New York has the potential to be an instant classic.