NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu scored 26 points, Breanna Stewart added 25 and the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 to win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday night.

Las Vegas was missing four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who tweaked her right ankle on Sunday in a win over Chicago. The Aces gave the Liberty all they could handle thanks to the stellar play of Jackie Young, who scored 25 of her 31 points in the second half.

The Aces led 71-69 early in the fourth quarter before New York went on a 15-2 run to take back control. Pauline Astier got the run started with a 3-pointer with 7:08 left and the Liberty were off and running.

Ionescu’s 3-pointer capped the burst and made it 84-73 with 3:39 left. Las Vegas wasn’t done, getting within 86-82 on Young’s 3 with 2:26 left. She had a chance to get the Aces within three with 37 seconds remaining, but missed a contested layup. Ionescu then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to seal the victory.

It’s the second time the Liberty won the in-season tournament, also beating Las Vegas in 2023. New York is the first team to win that championship twice since it first started being played in 2021.

The Aces got a scare 90 seconds into the game when Chelsea Gray went down after getting hit in the nose. The All-Star guard was down for a few minutes before she went back to the locker room with a towel drapped over her head. She returned a few minutes later.

Ionescu had a stellar first half, scoring 17 points as the Liberty built 51-37 lead at the break. The 51 points were the most ever in the first half of a Commissioner’s Cup championship game. The Liberty led 58-43 in the third quarter before Young got hot. She had 10 points over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the period, including a three-point play with 24 seconds left that made it 65-62.

Young and the Aces continued the run to start the fourth and took a 71-69 lead early in the period. It didn’t last long.

This was the fourth time that Stewart played for the Commissioner’s Cup title. She won the inaugural one with Seattle in 2021 and then again with New York two years later. The Liberty lost to Minnesota in 2024. Barclays Center wasn’t available that night, so the game was played in the UBS Arena, about 20 miles from the Liberty’s normal home.

The game brought out the stars, with Spike Lee attending the contest as well as minority Aces owner Tom Brady.

Up next

Aces: Host the Chicago Sky on Friday.

Liberty: Host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.

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