After 27 seasons, the New York Liberty finally have their first trophy. One of the league’s three remaining original franchises, the Liberty pulled away from the host Las Vegas Aces in the second half of the Commissioner’s Cup championship on Tuesday night for a comfortable 82-63 victory. Jonquel Jones was named MVP of the game after putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds.
As the final score indicates, what was supposed to be a showdown between two of the best offenses the league has ever seen did not transpire. It took 3:31 for anyone to score, and 3:48 for anyone to make a shot from the field. Save for a few short runs by each team, that trend largely continued for the rest of the night. Increased defensive intensity from the regular season played a part, but both teams missed plenty of open shots.
In the end, the difference proved to be the Liberty’s ability to find their range from downtown in the second half, and their more productive bench. They finished 15 of 35 from 3-point land, compared to 5 of 26 for the Aces. Five of those Liberty 3s were made by Marine Johannes, who came off the bench to pour in a game-high 17 points. New York’s bench outscored Las Vegas’ 28 to eight.
Although the game does not…
