How the Aces' rarely used bench players stepped up to send Las Vegas to back-to-back titles

NEW YORK — Cayla George and her husband were lifting in the hotel weight room a couple of nights ago when Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon called to tell her she was starting Game 4 of the WNBA Finals in place of Kiah Stokes.

George came off a WNBL championship and MVP in Australia when she signed with the Aces in the offseason having not been in the league since 2018. She played bench minutes this year but was used to big moments. The morning of Game 4, she told Yahoo Sports that she drew from her experience in the Olympics when Australia needed to defeat Puerto Rico by exactly 26 points to make the quarterfinals in Tokyo.

It was probably the most anxiety she felt in her life, she said. Then a sudden start in Game 4 popped up, with a repeat championship on the line. Hours later, in Champagne goggles with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, Pearl, standing next to her, George said her anxiety was on par with that Olympic moment.

“I just go back to those moments and draw on that to remind myself that I’m more than capable,” she said after the Aces clinched the title with a 70-69 Game 4 win at Barclays Center. “I haven’t made a huge impact here [in the U.S.]. But you know what? I’ve made impact at the right time when necessary to have Kiah’s back because she couldn’t make it on [the] court today.”

George was consistently left open on the perimeter and didn’t hesitate to shoot, which she said was because Hammon gave her the green light. Few went in, but when the Aces fell behind by 12 points minutes into the third quarter, she hit back-to-back 3s that sparked a comeback and upset for the ages. She finished with 11 points, despite shooting 28.3%, with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. She had three of the team’s five 3-pointers.

“You’ve got to be adaptable, and you’ve got to be resilient,” George said. “And you’ve got to have mental resilience probably more than anything. Because this year hasn’t been easy. I just came off an MVP season in Australia, and I come here and sit on a bench and find my role.”

The Aces cruised with their core of Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, A’ja Wilson and Stokes. Hammon rarely went to the bench in games, but Game 4 necessitated it, and those players stepped up. Alysha Clark, the Sixth Player of the Year, also got the start and scored 10 points on an efficient 4-of-7 with eight rebounds and two assists.

“People forget that you accept the role, doesn’t mean that’s the only role you’re capable of,” Clark, who won her third WNBA championship, said.

Hammon played coy about her starters and plans after Gray exited Game 3 due to a foot injury and Stokes entered practice Wednesday on crutches. The team kept upbeat and focused on staying together as a group.

“As you can see, we have professionals sitting on that bench waiting for a time,” Hammon said. “And they showed up.”

Sydney Colson played the most minutes off the bench in Game 4 (14:44) and collected early fouls but was +17 in the box score.

“Sydney is someone that works her ass off,” Plum said. “She comes in every day. She leads that practice squad, and she hasn’t gotten the time. All of a sudden, people go down, now she gets the time, and she’s locking up different people. Super physical.”

With their “point gawd” sidelined, rational thinking pointed toward Wilson, Young and Plum needing big games. Wilson led all scorers with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Young had 16 points and seven assists. Plum, who called her performance “dogs***,” took more of the ball-handling duties and was “loaded up on” by Liberty defenders. She had seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.

“It was about figuring out how to win the game,” Plum said. “I think a couple years ago, I would have tried to do too much. And I just let it be [today]. I’m really proud of it. I’m really proud of the growth.”

Plum assisted on George’s first 3-pointer of the third and at the end of the quarter dished to Clark to come within two, 51-49. The Aces trailed by as many as 12 but took the lead with 5:07 to play. The Liberty never came back, though the game was tied three times, and a final play didn’t go.

“I think we knew we hadn’t played our best basketball,” Plum told a small group of reporters, including Yahoo Sports, of the double-digit deficit. “We also knew that, as much as they’re a team, they’re not a team, if that makes sense. They’re really good individual players, but they don’t care about each other. And you can tell in those moments. They revert back to individual basketball.

“So we knew we had to just keep chipping away, keep getting stops, keep getting rebounds, space the floor and people made good plays. But we were a team. And that’s been all year.”

Hammon said ahead of the game the most tweaks were made defensively, and it was another poor offensive day from New York. The Liberty were 36.1% overall and 33.3% from 3, though for much of the game, they shot better from 3-point range than normal.

“I made up a defense, and they executed the crap out of it,” Hammon said.

“Literally made up a defense,” Wilson said.

“Fortune favors the bold, Becky,” Clark said. “Fortune favors the bold.”

Courtney Vandersloot scored 19, followed by Betnijah Laney (15), Sabrina Ionescu (13) and Jonquel Jones (six). It is Jones’ third loss in the Finals after two appearances with the Connecticut Sun. She was the Liberty’s MVP of the series and postseason and added 11 rebounds and three blocks.

“Credit to Las Vegas. They found a way,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said.

The Liberty remain the last original franchise still running that does not have a WNBA title. They’ve been to the Finals five times. The last time they were there was 2002, the year the Los Angeles Sparks won back-to-back titles. Hammon was on that Liberty team.

“It’s just a little ironic,” Hammon said. “It’s a little weird, honestly, that the last time this happened, my team was losing in a Liberty uniform. And then to close the circle is weird.”

She now coaches a budding dynasty with the core locked up for the 2024 season. The reigning champions will hold their parade on Monday in Las Vegas.

“This one’s sweeter,” Hammon said. “It just is. It’s harder to do.”