WNBA Finals: As the Connecticut Sun advance to Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces, Alyssa Thomas recorded the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history.
The Sun won 105-76 on Thursday night to avoid elimination because of Thomas’ remarkable performance. With Game 4 in Connecticut on Sunday, Las Vegas will have a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-five series.
Thomas had 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists for the game. The Sun has now won all four of their elimination games in these playoffs, defeating Chicago in Games 4 and 5 of that series and Dallas on the road in the first round.
“We’ve been struggling offensively, and we finally got a game back at home and my teammates were hitting shots,” Thomas said. “None of this would have been possible without them.”
With nine of the first 11 points scored by the Aces, Connecticut was forced to take a timeout as a result of the Aces’ quick start. After the Sun calmed down, they grabbed control of the game and outscored the Aces 32-10 the rest of the quarter, scoring 25 of the game’s final 29 points.
DeWanna Bonner stepped up as Connecticut made 14 of their 17 shots during the period.
In the previous two games of the series, Bonner had struggled, scoring just five points while missing 16 of her 18 attempts. On Thursday night, she scored seven points in the first eight minutes, finishing with 18.
“She (Bonner) was huge. She’s been here before. She’s won it. So, we lean on her,” Thomas said. “And she’s been struggling offensively, but we had nothing but faith in her and she came out and did her thing tonight.”
With 20 points, Jonquel Jones led the Sun.
As the Sun set a Finals record with 64 points in the paint while limiting Las Vegas to 26, Jones, Bonner, and Thomas helped Connecticut dominate inside.
“A long time ago, I talked to Lisa Leslie and she said to win a championship you have to win the paint,” Jones said. “I see it now and feel it now. I can go back to that and see she was right.”
With 1:44 remaining in the second quarter, Connecticut took advantage of that advantage to lead 53-34 before the Aces scored the final nine points of the period, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Kelsey Plum from just inside half-court.
The Sun regained the lead early in the third quarter, scoring the opening five points, and Las Vegas was unable to pull any closer than six points the rest of the way.
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