The WNBA’s high two groups will grow to be loads accustomed to one another in August, because the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty cross paths 4 instances this month.
Aces coach Becky Hammon is aware of her squad will probably be ready for Spherical 1 of the quartet, which is ready for Sunday afternoon at Brooklyn.
“Should you can’t rise up to play New York, I feel you’ve bought to examine your pulse on this league,” Hammon stated.
Las Vegas (24-2) waltzes into New York on an eight-game profitable streak amid a marketing campaign that seems primed to rewrite the WNBA file books.
The Aces already matched the 1998 Houston Comets for the perfect 26-game begin in WNBA historical past and are on tempo to surpass that squad, which completed 27-3 for the league’s finest regular-season win proportion.
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The Aces want six victories all through their remaining 15 video games to set the WNBA file for many regular-season wins, which presently stands at 29, held by the 2014 Phoenix Mercury.
Las Vegas took step one towards a second-straight WNBA title by throttling the visiting Atlanta Dream 93-72 on Tuesday, changing into the primary workforce this season to clinch a playoff spot.
New York (21-6) returns house from a 3-0 street journey that featured a pair of wins at Los Angeles on Sunday and Tuesday together with a 76-66 victory at Minnesota on Friday.
The Liberty trailed 42-41 at halftime, then buckled down on defence within the second half, stifling the Lynx to 24 factors over the past two quarters.
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“We simply began getting stops, and all of it comes by 5 gamers being on the identical web page,” New York head coach Sandy Brondello stated. “And that’s what we’d like each single day.”
That continuity will probably be paramount for Brondello’s workforce on Sunday in opposition to an Aces squad that runs up 94.4 factors per sport, with the Liberty subsequent at 87.7.
The Liberty gave up essentially the most factors they’ve allowed in a sport this season of their 98-81 defeat at Las Vegas on June 29. New York additionally surrendered 98 in a 10-point house loss to Dallas on July 19.
Each Aces starter scored no less than 14 factors within the first matchup, together with Kelsey Plum’s team-high 18. Breanna Stewart, whose 22.7 scoring common ranks second within the WNBA, put up 16 factors for the Liberty within the defeat.