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New York had appeared on track to keep their
first Finals campaign in 21 years alive, with guard Courtney
Vandersloot leading with 19 points, but an error-filled second
half cost them dearly.
"We fought through so much adversity during the season and we
just kept the main thing the main thing," said Wilson.
"We cried together, prayed together, and now we popping
champagne together."
The Aces were out of sync early on with starters Chelsea Gray
and Kiah Stokes sidelined due to injury and coughed up eight
turnovers in the first quarter.
New York had a commanding lead at halftime thanks to standout
performances from forward Betnijah Laney and Vandersloot but Las
Vegas came alive in the third, outshooting the home team 23-12.
A clutch jump shot from Sabrina Ionescu put New York within one
point with only seconds left but their frantic last-gasp
attempts to clinch victory came up short.
"Credit to Vegas, they were down, they found a way," New York
coach Sandy Brondello told reporters. "We fought but it wasn't
our best game today."
Dubbed the league's 'superteams', the two sides had been on a
collision course to the Finals, attracting enormous interest
from fans in the best-of-five series.
"There were a lot of years that we weren't so super, but you
can't build a super team in a couple of months," said Aces guard
Kelsey Plum, who had seven points, eight rebounds and five
assists.
"It takes years and I'm just really proud of this group."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by
Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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