WNBA Semifinals – Game 2 Liberty Aces Sun Lynx Results, What Happened

The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are one loss away from elimination after losing Game 2, 88-84, to the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Tuesday. No WNBA team has overcome a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-five series, and no defending champions have been in that position.

This series is a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals, which the Aces won 3-1. Since the 70-69 Game 4 victory in Brooklyn that clinched the championship, Las Vegas has lost five straight games to New York. The Skid ties the franchise record for consecutive losses to the same opponent.

Meanwhile, the Liberty's five straight wins against the Aces represent a franchise record in a single season against an opponent.

The top-seeded Liberty have never won a WNBA championship, but have been to the Finals five times. WNBA teams are 18-0 in playoff history when leading 2-0 in a best-of-five series.

The playoffs continue Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the semifinal series moves to Las Vegas and Connecticut.

ESPN examines how the Liberty won Game 2.

Liberty leads the best-of-five series 2-0

Don't write off the aces

It's worth remembering that the sample of WNBA series that started 2-0 is small and reflects many that weren't that close. New York won those first two games by a total of 14 points, and only four of the previous 18 games had such a small overall margin – including the only time a team combined to force a Game 5, when the Phoenix Mercury won the series The Seattle Storm closed against the USA during the 2018 semifinals.

When the NBA hosted the best-of-five series, there were six 2-0 comebacks, according to ESPN Research. With this win rate of 5.6% (6-102), a similar WNBA comeback is overdue. We'll see if Las Vegas can be that team. — Kevin Pelton

Have the Liberty officially become Sabrina Ionescu's team?

As New York's superteam assembled ahead of the 2023 season, the arrival of three high-profile rookies – Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot – in Brooklyn made headlines.

However, Ionescu has emerged as a dominant offensive force in the 2024 postseason. She led the Liberty with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists on Tuesday, becoming the only player in Liberty history to have multiple postseason games with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. What stood out Ionescu's performance in Game 2 (besides the crowded stat line) was her impact in the fourth quarter, when she scored or assisted on 16 of New York's 19 points. The freedom looked told her to lead them and she delivered. — Katie Barnes

Game 2 was more competitive than the series opener. What was the difference?

When asked what she liked about her team's play in the first half of Game 2, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said, “I liked the second quarter.” She should have. Then New York won the game. The Aces were the better team for the remaining 30 minutes, but in the second quarter New York showed why they were the best WNBA team of the regular season. The Liberty defeated Las Vegas 24-13. Stewart scored or assisted on 13 of those points, with the strategy of making the two-time MVP the facilitator paying off. (She finished the game with eight assists.) Five New York players scored, and Ionescu came alive with two huge three-pointers in the final 1:45 of the half.

The Liberty defense also committed eight Las Vegas turnovers and allowed just five field goals in the second quarter. — Charlie Cream