The New York Liberty haven’t shied away from talking about the “scars” left over from last season’s loss in the WNBA Finals to the Las Vegas Aces. But in the 2024 playoffs Sunday, the top-seeded Liberty took a crucial first step toward exorcising those demons.
New York led almost wire-to-wire to win Game 1 of the semifinals 87-77 in a blockbuster rematch against the Aces in front of a crowd of 14,015. Breanna Stewart, the 2023 regular-season MVP, and Sabrina Ionescu combined for 55 of the Liberty’s points, while Kelsey Plum and 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson combined for 45 points to pace the Aces.
While the No. 1 seed Liberty held court and won their opener against the No. 4 seed Aces, the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx fell 73-70 to the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun. The visiting Sun beat the Lynx in part by doing two things Minnesota usually does very well: shooting 3-pointers and moving the ball.
Alyssa Thomas nearly had her fifth career triple-double in the playoffs for the Sun, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Fellow Sun veteran DeWanna Bonner struggled while shooting (4-of-17) but had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Of Marina Mabrey‘s team-high 20 points for Connecticut, 18 came via the 3-pointer. The Sun had 24…
