Sun Stop Aces, Take Control of Series

The Connecticut Sun celebrate Game 3 victory over Las Vegas Aces as clock runs down. 

By Bob Phillips

BRADENTON, Fla.—After leaving Game 2 of the WNBA semifinal series against the Las Vegas
Aces with what was later diagnosed as a dislocated shoulder, not much was expected from Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas--certainly for game three. But you know what they say about assuming something...

Thomas scored 23 points, knocking down 10 of 21 shots with a sore shoulder, and led the Sun to a 76-68 victory over the Aces on Thursday night. The victory gave the Sun a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series meaning Connecticut needs just one win in the next two games to advance to the WNBA Finals against the winner of the Seattle-Minnesota series, while Vegas must run the table.

Thomas, who was injured in the first quarter of Tuesday night's game won by the Aces, was originally listed as "out" for Game 3 before her status was upgraded to "questionable." She came roaring out of the gate, scoring 13 points in the first two periods, giving the Sun a 56-53 lead at intermission.

But the Aces came roaring back in the third, outscoring the Sun by a 24-15 margin, taking a 56-53 lead into the fourth quarter.

Thomas, the wounded warrior, ended up with a double-double after hauling down 12 boards. She also turned up the volume in the closing minutes of the contest, scoring eight points in the final 180 seconds of regulation. The last basket came after a steal with 45 seconds left and gave the Sun an insurmountable seven-point advantage.

“I’m just doing me,” Thomas said. “I’m a tough person. I can handle a lot. I know what I’m capable of. I just want to be out there fighting with my team.”

While that might seem possible to overcome in some instances, the Sun's calling card is a ferocious defense. Case in point: Connecticut forced 15 Vegas turnovers; five came in the game's final 2:50, allowing the Sun to finish the game on a 10-2 run.

But this one was anyting but a blowout. Indeed, the top-seeded Aces were up seven midway through the fourth quarter and eyeing a chance to take the lead the series. But Connecticut, which opened the season at 0-5 before finally getting their legs and qualifying as the No. 7 (out of 8) seed in the tournament, put the pedal to the metal and closed out the game with a 20-4 run the that puts them one victory from reaching the finals for the second straight season.

Thomas scored eight points during that run. She also scored six of Connecticut’s final 10 points and had two steals during that game-ending run.

“I’ve known AT a long time,” Sun Brionna Jones said. “No matter what, injured or not, she’s going to play hard.”

“I’ve never dislocated it like that (on Tuesday),” AT said. “It was very painful going out and putting it back in. [Wednesday] I was super-sore, as to be expected.

“I’m used to it." she continued. "I knew what to expect. That wasn’t going to stop me. I think we have a great opportunity in this series, and I want to be a part of it. Once I heard it was up to me, I knew I’d be out there.”

The loss puts the top-seeded Aces one loss away from an extended vacation.
“A lot of stuff that wins playoff games, they were able to do and we weren’t,” Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer, a key member of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" team in the late '80s and early '90s, said. “That’s the difference in the ballgame.”

Brionna Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and DeWanna Bonner 12 points and 10 boards for the Sun. It's the first time in league postseason history a team had three players with double-doubles in points and rebounds. Bonner moved up to 12th in career playoff points, passing Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

A'ja Wilson led the Aces with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Angel McCoughtry added 16 points. Las Vegas had 15 turnovers to four for the Sun, who won despite going 1 of 11 from 3-point range.

While Sun fans may have been surprised with Alyssa Thomas's quick return, Laimbeer was not.

“This is something that happens to her all the time,” Laimbeer said. “[The shoulder] pops out, [and] it pops back in. It was clear [Wednesday] she was going to play. We were prepared for that. We had the game in our hands in the fourth quarter.”
The Sun now will try to close out the series on Sunday. Game 4 tips off at 1 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live on ESPN.
                                                                                                                                    —with staff reports