Sun Deny Las Vegas A Win In Game Three 105-76

Sun Deny Las Vegas A Win In Game Three 105-76

Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas reacts during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Uncasville, Conn.

By Barbara Mason

After a close game Sunday followed by domination in game two on Tuesday the Las Vegas Aces lead the Connecticut Sun 2-0 in the WNBA finals. Thursday night they were looking to take game three and win their first ever WNBA title it was not to be as the Sun upended the Aces 105-76 in Connecticut.

Mid-way through the first quarter the Aces seemed to have the game in control. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the Sun went to work. By the end of the quarter Connecticut had a 34-19 lead. The Sun had gone on a 25-4 run and this turned out to be the highest scoring quarter in NBA playoff history.

The Sun went into the second quarter with the same energy and at the half they led 53-42. Connecticut had led by as much as 23 at one point in the quarter. Kelsey Plum launched a 41-foot three point shot at the buzzer making this game much more manageable for Las Vegas.

The Sun were shooting at a blistering 60% in the first half. They had been shooting an average of 68 points per game so 53 after two quarters was an amazing stat for Connecticut. The Sun defense was disturbing the Aces timing. They had been suffocating Las Vegas taking the paint away from them.

The Aces had a lot of work to do but finished the half on a great note cutting a 23 point deficit to 11 at the half. Las Vegas needed some second half adjustments. The Aces would need a lot of energy to catch the Sun in this game.

Another question would be the ability of the Sun to continue the same defensive pressure that they had in the first half. That question was answered as the second half got underway. The Sun continued to control the game in the third quarter maintaining their double digit lead throughout most of it. As the quarter expired the Aces trailed by eight points 77-69. Las Vegas had made up some ground and it would come down to the final quarter.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Sun. Every time the Aces challenged, Connecticut had the answer and refused to back down. The final was 105-76 in favor of Connecticut.

The high score for the Aces was Jackie Young with 22 points. Every starter for the Sun shot in double digits with the high coming from Jonquel Jones with 20 points followed by Dewanna Bonner with 18. The aggressive offense and defense was just too hot tonight for Las Vegas to handle.

Game four will be played in Connecticut on Sunday with tipoff at 1:00 PM televised on ESPN. Las Vegas will try and turn the table on the Suns defense and an offense that was equally impressive in game three.