Commissioner’s Cup MVP Jonquel Jones and the Liberty would like to enjoy the sweet taste of victory over the Las Vegas Aces again Thursday. Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty
If defense wins championships, the New York Liberty have already proven they can bring the WNBA’s best offense to a halt.
They can also beat them badly on the boards.
They’ll try to do both for the third time in a row when they complete a two-game set in Las Vegas on Thursday night against the league-leading Aces.
“It gives us some extra confidence. To be able to do it for a second time,” said 2023 Commissioner’s Cup Most Valuable Player Jonquel Jones Tuesday after helping New York bully its way to an 82-63 win over Vegas in the third installment of the WNBA’s in-season tournament championship.
“We know exactly what our level of play is and what we can do on the court,” added Jones, who finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds to as the Liberty secured their first-ever title trophy since the league was founded in 1997.
The Aces (27-3) are averaging 94.0 points per game this year, 5.5 more than the Liberty (24-6) are putting up through their first 30 contests.
But in the last two meetings between the league’s “Super Teams”, Vegas’ otherwise prolific offense has been shut down after rolling to a relatively easy 98-81 rout of visiting New York on June 29.
On Aug. 6 at Downtown’s Barclays Center, the Liberty smothered the Aces, 99-61, in a game Vegas coach Becky Hammon called “an ass-whooping.”
Tuesday’s blowout win in Sin City was another example of how New York has been able to slow down the league’s most explosive squad, which shot a sizzling 58 percent, including 43 percent from 3-point range, against it in the initial meeting.
The Aces shot just 33 percent from the floor and were even…
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