Seattle - After exchanging shots with the host Seattle Storm In the last seconds of an instant classic, Las Vegas Aces in the last basket and then pulled away in overtime to win an exciting match 3 110-98 on Sunday and take a 2-1 lead in the best five-team series in the semi-finals.
“It was a tough game,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something like this - back and forth and battle…big shot after big shot from both sides, really.”
With 11.3 seconds left, Seattle opened a four-point lead next Joel Lloyd Make a pair of free throws. The ace answered almost immediately with a pointer of 3 Regona Williams He had the opportunity to move forward after that Tina Charles Wasted two free throws on the Possession of the Post Storm.
Aja Wilson He took full advantage of the spinning basket in the paint that gave Las Vegas an advantage of 90-89 with 2.9secs remaining. Now it’s Seattle’s time to answer So Birdplaying in her final season after announcing her retirement, making what looks like a game-winning triple pointer from the corner within the last second of play.
Instead, he forced aces with overtime Jacky Young Record the bell.
“I think it’s probably going to be a game that was a lot of hits - oh, they’re going to win it, oh no, they’re going to win it, and now we’re going to work on overtime,” the Vegas goalkeeper said. Chelsea Gray He said. “That’s what basketball is about in games. It was a good feeling.”
According to Elias Sports Bureau, there has never been a case before of WNBA teams making three flashlights or tying the game in the last three seconds of regulation during a playoff game. It hasn’t happened in an NBA playoff in at least the last 25 seasons.
The apocalyptic end of the fourth quarter convinced the Aces they had the advantage to enter the overtime, something Storm players and coaches likely admitted had an effect.
“We said at the meeting that the momentum is on our side now,” Gray said. “It was shrinking for the home team that we had to go into overtime. We came out locked up in those five minutes.”
No one was more locked in than Gray, who beat Seattle 8-6 on her own in overtime. The Aces’ 18 points were the highest ever in a supplemental supplement.
Gray (29 points) and Wilson (34) both set new heights in their playoff careers — Wilson topped 33 points in Game Two of the series on Wednesday. Their 63 combined points were the second-most of a WNBA teammates in a playoff game, trailing 65 points total Brianna Stewart Joel Lloyd vs Las Vegas in Game 1 of the 2020 WNBA Finals.
By adding 12 assists for Gray, she was responsible for creating 59 out of 110 points, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Wilson, who played every 45 minutes, contributed 11 rebounds in her second straight playoff 30-10, with a draw. Candice Parker Most WNBA in postseason history.
As Las Vegas snagged a win away from returning to the WNBA Finals for the second time in three years, the storm was left to lament missed opportunities.
“It’s four years now and there’s not much time left and that’s really for me [was] Where did we lose the match, let them take the lead - maybe they scored five points in three seconds? That, to me, is where we really let that go. I understand the last plays are going to hold because it’s exciting and exciting and I’m sure it’s been great on TV, but we were level four.”
“We had the match, and we gave it to them,” his teammate Stewart echoed.
Seattle finished the fourth quarter with a foul and was unable to capitalize on it. Bird said the team discussed the possibility of a foul in the Aces’ final inside play, which started with 0.8 seconds on the clock, but that a pass that goes straight to Young in the shooting motion made that impossible without risking a three-point play that would have allowed Las Vegas to win the regulation.
“I made the basket,” Baird said. “No magic happened.”
Storm coach Noel Quinn said then that Wilson traveled on the go-ahead score in the final seconds, which would have brought the ball back to Seattle by one point if called.
It wasn’t the case, and Aces ended up at the top in an unforgettable match in terms of dramatic score and quality of play.
“This was just high-level basketball,” Hammon said. “Both sides.”