CNN
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As the WNBA season nears its end and four teams battle for a spot in the finals, the Las Vegas Aces avoided elimination with a win against the New York Liberty, while Napheesa Collier made franchise history for the Minnesota Lynx as they won a 2 . -1 series lead over the Connecticut Sun.

Facing elimination and the prospect of being swept in the WNBA semifinals, the two-time defending champions romped to a 95-81 win over the Liberty on Friday in Game 3 of the best-of-five series.

The win keeps Las Vegas’ three-peat hopes alive for now, but the franchise will still have to make WNBA history to advance as no team has ever overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five playoff -series.

“Everything was right for everyone,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told reporters afterward. “I think this was probably our most complete game of the season, the game I’ve been waiting for and believed they had.”

The game was still in the balance at halftime, with the Aces leading 52-49. But after the break, the defending champions went on a 16-point run in the third quarter and led by 24 points at one point in the fourth to seize control of the game.

Jackie Young scored 24 points and Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, while league MVP A’ja Wilson added 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Aces’ defense effectively shut down Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, leaving her scoreless until the fourth quarter and not giving her “the light of day,” as she later said, according to ESPN.

“They lost two games, which allowed me to come off the screens and pick them apart offensively,” she said. “So I think in this game you could see the adjustments they made: sending two or three to the ball at a time and not letting me get anything easy. There were usually three people in my face no matter what.

Until Friday, the Aces had not beaten the Liberty all season, losing both their three regular season games and the first two games in this playoff series. The victory also marked Las Vegas’ 12th consecutive home playoff victory, breaking the WNBA record previously shared by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001–04) and Sacramento Monarchs (2003–06).

Vegas will once again have home field advantage when the teams play in Game 4 of the series at Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday at 3:00 PM ET.

Elsewhere on Friday, Collier led the Minnesota Lynx to a 90-81 victory over the Connecticut Sun, scoring 26 points as they bounced back from struggling in Game 2.

The Lynx now have a 2-1 series lead and can advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017 if they win Game 4 on Sunday.

Collier made franchise history with her performance as she contributed 26 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the first Lynx player to record multiple 25-point, 10-rebound games in the playoffs.

“It’s the law of averages. Sometimes you have a bad night,” she told ESPN afterward, referring to her Game 2 performance in which she scored nine points. “But I knew I had to compete – it’s the play-offs. You have to play with an aggressive mentality, not remembering what happened before, but staying in the present moment.

Game 4 is Sunday at 5pm ET in Connecticut.