They Live; New York Liberty Extend WNBA Finals With Home Win Over Las Vegas

The New York Liberty are on the board at the WNBA Finals thanks primarily to Jonquel Jones' historic outing.

NEW YORK-Seafoam season isn't over yet.

History from Jonquel Jones led the way for the New York Liberty in the third game of the best-of-five WNBA Finals, an 87-73 win over the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center. Previously down 2-0 in the best-of-five set, the Liberty earned their first WNBA Finals victory since Teresa Weatherspoon unleashed her miracle heave in Game 2 of the 1999 championship series against Houston. 

Somehow, Jones' first 2023 postseason game that fell short of a double-double proved to be her most impactful: the Connecticut import set a new Liberty Finals record with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and also became the first rebounder in WNBA history to haul in 100 rebounds in multiple postseason tournaments. 

Jonquel Jones (35) put forth a dominant effort to keep the Liberty's championship hopes alive / Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"I'm really, really proud of JJ," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said of Jones, now averaging 21.7 points and 9.3 rebounds over the first three games of the series. "Her will to win, she's a superstar this girl, she's amazing. She's very humble. We know she's carried us. In the games that we lost, she was really the only one that was being consistent."

"I thought she did a fantastic job shot blocking, changing shots, switching, and staying in front of the guards. That's not easy for a player of that size. So she was big for us and we needed to do it again (in Game 4)."

Breanna Stewart was right behind Jones, pairing 20 points with 12 rebounds in a double-double showing. Sabrina Ionescu dished out 11 assists while Courtney Vandersloot's name dominated the play sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. 

New York owned the first 20 minutes of action but could only muster a three-point lead going into the halftime break. But whereas things went completely out of control in the third period of Game 2, the Liberty used Sunday's second-half opener to lock things down. The Aces scored only 10 in the second half, allowing the Liberty to fully gain the confidence of a celebrity-packed crowd that featured almost every member of the team's Ring of Honor (including Vegas head coach Becky Hammon), New York Knicks forward Josh Hart, actor and Liberty fan Jason Sudeikis, and much more. 

"We had to come out of the locker room at halftime and we didn't do that in Vegas," Brondello said. "It was just more about things that we needed to tidy up but it was als more about keeping our foot on the pedal. We just got to keep playing. We had some good looks, we executed quite well (in the first half). We just needed to do better. So that's all I was focused on (at halftime): let's just be better than what we were in the first half."

"We came up and we showed what we can do," Stewart said. "We were battle-tested in Vegas and down 0-2. But we still have an opportunity and a chance. Now this series is 1-2 and we still have an opportunity, an opportunity and a chance. I wasn't looking past Sunday, so now not looking past (Game 4) and making sure that these days that we have, we continue to get better and we know that we have our crowd behind us and continue to fight."

Las Vegas earned a 29-point out from Kelsey Plum, an output primarily built by five triples. A'ja Wilson had a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double but was forced into a 4-of-16 outing from the field with Jones draped over her for most of the afternoon.

Chelsea Gray, the defending WNBA Finals MVP, also endured a lower-body injury that sent her to the locker room during the final stages. Hammon did not have an update on Gray during her postgame availability, having not talked to the team trainer by the time she took to the podium.

Game 4 will return to Brooklyn on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).