Breanna Stewart was named MVP and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 in the Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday night, winning the in-season tournament in front of their home crowd.
NEW YORK — When the championship moment finally arrived, the Barclays crowd didn’t have to wait long for a reminder of what this team is built on.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu refused to let the New York Liberty come away without the Commissioner’s Cup. Stewart delivered 25 points and 11 rebounds and was named the MVP of the game. while Ionescu scored 26 points — the best offensive effort of her season — as New York beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 on Tuesday night.
“To win our second one, it’s special to do it in Barclays with our fans,” Stewart said, after the Liberty accepted the Commissioner’s Cup trophy from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
The Liberty became the first team to win the tournament twice. They had also beaten the Aces in Las Vegas in 2023.
Ionescu’s night carried extra weight. She has been recovering from a back issue that sidelined her for a period after an ankle injury took her out for the start of the season. She said she kept faith in her work and her timeline.
“I always continued to have that belief in myself since I know the work I put in,” Ionescu said. “(An) injury or two isn’t going to diminish who I am.”
As the trophy ceremony unfolded, fans chanted Ionescu’s name. And for Las Vegas, the final score landed in the middle of a game they never quite managed to finish the way they wanted.
The Aces were without four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who tweaked her right ankle in a win over Chicago on Sunday. New York still had to deal with Jackie Young, who scored 25 of her 31 points in the second half.
“Do what I can to help our team win. Unfortunately, we fell short tonight,” Young said.
There was a swing in the closing stretch that separated the sides. The Aces led 71-69 early in the fourth quarter, then New York responded with a 15-2 run to take control. Pauline Astier started that burst with a 3-pointer at 7:08 left. and Ionescu’s 3-pointer capped the surge. making it 84-73 with 3:39 left.
Las Vegas fought back. Young hit a 3-pointer to pull the Aces within 86-82 with 2:26 remaining. She then had a chance to get the Aces within three with 37 seconds left, but missed a contested layup. Ionescu answered at the other end with a 3-pointer to seal the victory.
Aces coach Becky Hammon praised Young without pretending the result came down to one shot.
“Thought she played phenomenal,” Hammon said. “That shot wasn’t what won or lost the game. She’s a perfectionist, demands a lot out of herself. Needs to give herself a little more grace.”
Even before the fourth quarter drama, Las Vegas got hit early by a scare. Ninety seconds into the game, Chelsea Gray went down after getting hit in the nose. Gray stayed down for a few minutes before returning to the locker room with a towel draped over her head. She came back a few minutes later.
After the game, Gray joked when asked about her nose, saying it was “attached.”
What made the Liberty’s win feel inevitable was the way they built pressure from the start. Ionescu had a stellar first half, scoring 17 points as New York built a 51-37 lead at the break. The Liberty’s 51 points were the most ever in the first half of a Commissioner’s Cup championship game.
They kept the advantage through the third quarter, leading 58-43, before Young took over down the stretch. Over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, Young scored 10 points, including a three-point play with 24 seconds left that pulled the Aces to 65-62.
When the fourth quarter opened, the momentum stayed with Las Vegas. Young and the Aces carried the momentum into the early portion of the period, taking a 71-69 lead. It didn’t last.
Stewart’s place in this moment has history behind it. This was the fourth time she played for the Commissioner’s Cup title. She won the inaugural trophy with Seattle in 2021 and then again with New York two years later. The Liberty lost to Minnesota in 2024.
The setup for this matchup had its own twist, too. Barclays Center wasn’t available the previous year, when the game was played at the UBS Arena about 20 miles from the Liberty’s normal home.
Tuesday night brought out the kind of attention this tournament draws at its biggest stage, with Spike Lee in attendance and minority Aces owner Tom Brady also watching.
The next steps are already set: the Aces host the Chicago Sky on Friday, while the Liberty host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.
Liberty Aces Commissioner's Cup Breanna Stewart Sabrina Ionescu Jackie Young MVP Cathy Engelbert Barclays Center WNBA
Stewart with 25 and 11 that’s wild.
Ionescu always shows up even when she’s hurt or whatever, good for her. Kinda crazy they won again after beating them in 2023 too.
So they “won the tournament twice” but it says in-season tournament… does that mean it’s like preseason but for real? Also I thought A’ja Wilson would’ve played if it was just a tweak, that seems like coach BS or something.
Back injury plus ankle injury and she still drops 26? I mean okay but I didn’t realize this was even a thing called Commissioner’s Cup, sounds like an award for making money not basketball. Either way 93-85 isn’t a blowout so how did the Aces “not finish” like the article says? Basketball journalism always confusing.