A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young help Aces get better of nemesis Liberty

The New York Liberty have given the Las Vegas Aces more trouble than any other opponent in recent years, but the Aces got the better of them Thursday in Las Vegas with a 104-99 win thanks to a combined 62 point from A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young.

Wilson led all scorers with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. The four-time MVP scored 18 in a third-quarter scoring outburst that saw her sink 8 of 10 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer.

Young scored 29 points, making 7 of 11 shots from the field overall and 3 of 5 from 3-point range while also tallying a game-high nine assists.

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 26 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 10 of 20 from the field overall while making her lone attempt from beyond the arc. Rookie Pauline Astier added a career-high 19 points while Sabrina Ionescu added 15 points and Rebecca Allen 13.

New York had won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams, including six straight from 2023-25. They also met in the WNBA Finals in back-to-back seasons, the Liberty winning in four games in 2023 and the Aces doing the same in '24.

Wilson put the bow on another superhuman performance with 55.5 seconds remaining Thursday, converting an and-one to put the Aces up 98-93 and halt a six-point run that had drawn the Liberty within two.

Despite trailing by a game-high 10 points early in the third quarter, the Liberty managed to cut the Aces' lead to 60-59 on a Jonquel Jones lay-in with 6:32 remaining in the quarter. From that point on, however, Wilson scored 12 of the Aces' final 18 points of the quarter to lead 78-71 heading into the fourth.

The Aces carried a 52-44 lead to halftime, in large part because of a 22-point showing from Young in the first half that saw the guard make 7 of 9 attempts from the field and 3 of 5 from long range. She scored 15 points to pace her team in what was a back-and-forth opening frame that saw nine lead changes. The Aces closed the half on a 9-2 run, which provided either team their first real separation of the game.

--Field Level Media