Aces keep title defense alive with 95-81 Game 3 win over Liberty

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jackie Young scored 24 points and the Las Vegas Aces took control with a 16-point third-quarter run Friday night to stave off elimination with a 95-81 win over the New York Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals.
The Liberty, who lead the series 2-1, will get another shot at closing out the two-time defending champion Aces on Sunday. If Las Vegas wins that, a winner-take-all Game 5 will be Tuesday in New York.
This was the Aces’ 12th consecutive home playoff victory, breaking the WNBA record shared by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-04) and Sacramento Monarchs (2003-06).
Las Vegas finally beat the Liberty for the first this time year. New York won all three regular-season meetings and the first two games of this series.
In addition, Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes finished with 11 points and Chelsea Gray totaled 10 points and seven assists. The Aces shot 52.1%, including 40.6% from the 3-point line.
Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 19 points, Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally each scored 11 points and Leonie Fiebich had 10 points.
LYNX 90, SUN 81
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 26 points and Minnesota beat Connecticut to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.
Game 4 is Sunday in Connecticut with the Lynx looking to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017. That season ended in the fourth of Minnesota’s championships during a seven-year stretch. Game 5 would be in Minnesota on Tuesday night if necessary.
Collier, who averaged just 14 points in the first two games of the series, had 16 in the first half in Game 3. The runner-up for league MVP was aggressive from the start. Minnesota led by seven after one quarter and 48-36 at the half thanks to Collier, who made seven of her 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
The Sun tried to rally, cutting the deficit to seven on a three-point play by Marina Mabrey midway through the third quarter. But that’s as close as they got.
DeWanna Bonner moved into second place on the WNBA career postseason scoring list in the third quarter. She passed Candace Parker, who had 1,149 during her illustrious career. Bonner now has 1,159, moving ahead of Parker by hitting a free throw with 1:36 left in the quarter. Diana Taurasi is the leader with 1,455.