New York Liberty defeat Las Vegas Aces 87-78 in buttoned-up victory

A’ja Wilson’s mid-game injury cannot be dismissed, but the Liberty looked like themselves, if still an incomplete version

The New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces entered Tuesday night consumed with their own problems. Vegas sat at 9-9, hanging around the cut line of the WNBA Playoffs. The Liberty, as we’ve covered, have lost six of nine and are in danger of sliding down the standings.

These teams are going through it. Kelsey Plum is long gone, and swapping her out for Jewell Loyd has, to this point, been a downgrade. Jonquel Jones remains on the bench with a sprained ankle through the All-Star break. Worse yet, Natasha Cloud and Isabelle Harrison were each absent for Tuesday’s game with less severe injuries. Forget a (possibly waning) rivalry, these teams just needed a win, a break to go their way.

Following an ugly loss against the Seattle Storm in which her team scored just six points in the the third quarter, Sandy Brondello’s message clearly got through to her team. After the game’s first possession, Leonie Fiebich’s lack of offensive aggression was history…

Fiebich finished with 15 points on a much-welcomed, season-high 11 shot attempts. Aside from having a quick trigger on the catch, she actively posted mismatches and looked for the ball against a switch-heavy Vegas defense, even if it didn’t come her way.

“I feel like us Europeans are so used to switching, so we just, we gotta move the ball. We gotta be faster than the defense,” she said at shootaround.

Her teammates obliged. The ball popped in a high-level first quarter for both teams; if not for a bunch of open looks that rimmed in and out, the 42-40 score at halftime would have been much higher.

Despite a quiet first half from A’ja Wilson, New York’s defense didn’t execute at the same high level. Fiebich was locking up Chelsea Gray once again, but without Cloud in the starting lineup, Jackie Young got off to a hot start. Behind the point-of-attack defense, New York’s attention often waned, as Vegas found open 3-point attempts without much resistance…

Sadly, in the midst of this compelling, nationally televised matchup, A’ja Wilson took a hard fall and landed awkward on her right wrist. The three-time MVP shot her free-throws, played another couple minutes, and was done for the night.

So were the Aces.

It took them a little while to realize it, though. Vegas went up seven just after halftime, when Brondello inserted Marine Johannés for Nyara Sabally, downsizing but up-spacing. It worked like a charm. Kennedy Burke, playing the 4, recorded three steals in the third quarter en route to a career-high six, and each got the Liberty on the break…

When asked about her own favorite play of the night, Leonie Fiebich redirected the attention to Burke: “I just really care about what we do as a team. And I thought all of KB’s effort and her steals tonight really gave us a lot of energy. And I just love that for her, and for us as a team.”

Said Burke: “When your teammates praise what a good job I did on defense, and then the crowd playing into it. Like, getting loud, I feel like that went into that as well. And yeah, I feel like just my teammates just praising me really helps, and it just gives me a confidence boost to do it again the next play.”

Behind Burke, New York held Vegas to 36 total points in the second half, though the score was neck-and-neck until midway through the fourth quarter. But with the Liberty offense finally clicking, it felt inevitable that they’d make a game-sealing run in the fourth quarter.

And that they did. After this puzzling Sabrina Ionescu technically…

…they ripped off a 10-0 run. Against switches, they rolled and sealed, and when they couldn’t, they swung the ball until an advantage appeared — sometimes they did it all on the same possession…

“I thought we did a better job,” said Brondello of her team’s offense. “You know, there was some times we were hunting [a mismatch], and especially in the early flow. You see KB down low, it’s smart, just give her the ball. She’s great at that. But for the most part, we just kept moving the ball. I think we get breakdowns, and that’s when we’re at our best.”

Though the ball swung around the court with much more gusto than it had in previous games, Sabrina Ionescu still led the charge. She couldn’t buy a three, shooting 1-of-9 from range, but shot 8-of-14 with a ton of trips to the line to finish with a monster 28/8/8 line in 36 minutes. It’s what an All-Star does.

Despite Wilson’s injury drastically influencing the outcome of the game, the vibes were high postgame. Ionescu’s sore neck seems recovered, and she’s started July on a tear. Even with a hiccup vs. Seattle the Liberty have still started this homestand 2-1.

Maybe all is not lost in Liberty land.

Final Score: New York Liberty 87, Las Vegas Aces 78

Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images

After some valuable days of rest, the New York Liberty seek revenge against the Atlanta Dream. Tip-off from Barclays Center is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.