WNBA Playoffs: Stewart stars as Liberty get revenge on Aces in Finals rematch | WNBA

Breanna Stewart scored 34 points and Sabrina Ionescu 21 to help the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in Game 1 of their semifinal series on Sunday.

Jonquel Jones added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Liberty. Game 2 of the best-of-five match takes place on Tuesday evening in New York. Kelsey Plum scored 24 points and A'ja Wilson added 21 for the Aces.

This was a rematch of last season's WNBA Finals, which the Aces won in four games, including winning the championship in New York. The Liberty said they bore a scar from that loss and used it as motivation throughout the season. New York had the best record in the league and took first place in the playoffs.

Last season, the Aces were the No. 1 seed, so New York had to travel to Las Vegas for the first two finals games. The Liberty returned home down 2-0 and couldn't regain the momentum.

New York came out strong behind Stewart on Sunday, leading 28-21 after one quarter. Las Vegas closed at 37-34 with 4:11 left in the half before New York ended the second quarter with an 11-4 run to take a 10-point lead at halftime. Stewart, who had 20 points in the first 20 minutes, had six points in this sprint. She hit eight of her 10 shots in the first half.

The Liberty scored the first five points of the third quarter and the lead increased to 62-44 on a three-pointer from Stewart. After a timeout, the Aces scored the next 12 points to get within six points. Courtney Vandersloot finally ended New York's losing streak with a layup that sparked a run at the end of the third and restored a nine-point lead.

Las Vegas held on, trailing just 75-67 until Ionescu hit a three-pointer with 7:34 to play and quickly turned to point at Spike Lee, who was sitting courtside in her jersey. In Game 2 of the opening-round win over Atlanta, the basketball superfan gave the Liberty guard a high-five, who she said felt like “New York was injected into my veins.”