Liberty stay alive in WNBA Finals, win Game 3 vs. Aces behind Jonquel Jones’ big game

NEW YORK — The Liberty avoided elimination in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, with dominance by Jonquel Jones on both sides of the ball Sunday leading them to a convincing win over the Las Vegas Aces.

Jones scored a team-high 27 points and played smothering defense on Aces star forward A’ja Wilson en route to a 87-73 victory at Barclays Center. The win prevented a three-game sweep by the top-seeded Aces, who now lead the best-of-five series, 2-1.

“We can be a great defensive team but you have to be locked in to do it,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said postgame. “And we weren’t for two games which was strange for me.”

Jones and her Liberty teammates played their best man-to-man defense of the series, which helped them outscore Las Vegas in the second half, 44-33, and finally slow down the trio of Aces guards who dominated Games 1 and 2.

Kelsey Plum scored a game-high 29 points for Las Vegas, but Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray totaled 19 points on 29% shooting.

It was the first time this series the Liberty’s trio of starting guards — Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot and Betnijah Laney — had a more efficient night than Las Vegas’s trio of starting guards. In Game 3, the Liberty’s trio shot 48% on 27 shots. The Aces starting trio shot 42% on 43 shots.

“I think overall it was really good,” Laney said about the team’s defense on Vegas’ guards. “We only allowed for one person to really go off.

“They’re a great team. They have a lot of weapons. You can’t stop every single thing. But I think overall we did a much better job defensively.”

Gray appeared to suffer a lower-body injury in the fourth quarter of Game 3. She was taken out of the game with about four minutes left before hopping into the tunnel.

Aces head coach Becky Hammon didn’t provide much details about the apparent injury, but said she would shuffle between Young and Plum as the point guard if Gray is unable to play in Game 4. Hammon also said Sydney Colson could see minutes in the series.

“But we do it by committee,” Hammon said postgame. “I don’t think there’s any one person that’s going to step up and fill her shoes.”

Wilson, meanwhile, missed 12 of her 16 shots and finished with 16 points, her fewest of the series.

For the No. 2-seed Libs, there was more resistance, fewer lapses and fewer gaps that could’ve led to backdoor cuts to the rim. Rather than all of the Vegas guards going off in the first half, it was just Plum.

The Liberty took control in the first quarter, unlike in the first two games of the series. Jones made her presence known by altering shots at the rim and running the floor to score on the other end.

Jones and Plum both scored eight points in the first quarter, after which the Liberty led, 21-18.

The two traded buckets to start the second. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jones and Laney put the Libs up seven and caused Hammon to call a timeout. The Aces failed to go on runs like they did in the previous games and trailed by three at halftime.

During Saturday’s practice, Ionescu said the Aces didn’t have a definitive answer to combat the 6-foot-6 Jones down low. Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP, proved that to be the case Sunday by scoring 18 points in the first half. She hit two three-pointers and only missed one shot from two-point range through two quarters.

Plum kept her team in the game with 15 points by halftime, but she and her team failed to score in the first three minutes of the third quarter while the home team put up eight quick points. The run pushed the Liberty’s lead to double-digits for the first time. The Aces ended up scoring only 10 points in the period.

Wilson continued to face tough defense and failed to draw some foul calls. Brenna Stewart blocked her shot with two minutes remaining in the third, which led to Jones hitting a three-pointer. The Barclays Center crowd erupted as the Libs closed the quarter up 11.

Stewart, the 2023 WNBA MVP, enjoyed her best game of the series. She finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds on 50% shooting.

Laney delivered some daggers in the second half. Her three-pointer with 3:15 remaining garnered one of the loudest cheers of the afternoon. Then, like in the first half, Jones followed up with a trey of her own.

Jones ended the game with four made three-pointers. A few of them were created from Ionescu’s 11 assists. Ionescu also made three treys and finished with nine points.

“We wouldn’t be here without JJ,” Brondello said.

Hammon eventually waved the white flag after Ionescu hit a three-pointer with 1:43 remaining in the game.

The Liberty will try to fight off elimination again Wednesday in Game 4 at Barclays Center.