LAS VEGAS — 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 this season after New York won all three regular-season meetings and the first two games of this series.
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.
Sabrina Ionescu, who entered the game averaging 24.5 points in the playoffs, was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting. She was shut out until a minute into the fourth quarter when she made a technical free throw.
A back-and-forth first half quickly became one-sided in the third quarter when the Aces turned a 57-53 lead into a 73-53 advantage. New York went 7:36 between field goals and scored just six points in the period. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello called two timeouts to try to stop the Aces’ momentum.
Las Vegas extended its lead to 78-55 early in the fourth quarter to cap a 21-2 run.
The game looked like it could go either way when the second half began. Both teams went back and forth in the first 30 minutes, which featured 18 lead changes and eight ties.
The Aces played without Kiah Stokes, who suffered a concussion toward the end of Game 3.
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic sat courtside next to teammate Dereck Lively II, coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison. The Mavericks’ training camp was in Las Vegas this week. Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of the Heisman Trophy front-runners, also were in attendance.