LAS VEGAS – Jackie Young scored 24 points and the Las Vegas Aces took control Friday night with a 16-point run in the third quarter to avoid elimination with a 95-81 win over the New York Liberty in Game 3 of the semis WNBA finals.

The Liberty, who led the series 2-1, will get another chance to shut down the two-time defending champion Aces on Sunday. If Las Vegas wins that, there will be a winner-take-all Game 5 on Tuesday in New York.

This was the Aces’ twelfth straight home playoff victory, breaking the WNBA record shared by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001–04) and the Sacramento Monarchs (2003–06).

Las Vegas finally defeated the Liberty this season after New York won all three regular season meetings and the first two games of this series.

Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes finished with 11 points and Chelsea Gray totaled 10 points and seven assists. The Aces shot 52.1%, including 40.6% from the 3-point line.

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 19 points, Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally each scored 11 points and Leonie Fiebich had 10 points.

Sabrina Ionescu, who entered the playoffs averaging 24.5 points, was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting. She was shut out until a minute into the fourth quarter when she made a technical free throw.

A back-and-forth first half quickly turned one-sided in the third quarter as the Aces turned a 57-53 lead into a 73-53 advantage. New York went 7:36 between field goals and scored just six points in that span. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello called two timeouts to try to stop the Aces’ momentum.

Las Vegas extended its lead to 78-55 early in the fourth quarter, capping a 21-2 run.

When the second half started, it looked like it could go either way. Both teams went back and forth in the first 30 minutes, with 18 lead changes and eight ties.

The Aces played without Kiah Stokes, who suffered a concussion toward the end of Game 3.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic sat next to teammate Dereck Lively II, coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison. The Mavericks’ training camp was in Las Vegas this week. Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of the Heisman Trophy front-runners, were also in attendance.