Alyssa Thomas records a triple-double and her amazing performance assisted the Connecticut Sun in avoiding elimination once more. On Thursday night, Game 3 of the WNBA Finals saw the Sun defeat the Las Vegas Aces, 105-76. Thomas recorded the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history.
For the Sun, who have now won all four of their elimination games in these playoffs, she ended with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists. The Sun also defeated Chicago in Games 4 and 5 to win that series.
“We’ve been struggling offensively and we finally got a game back at home and my teammates were hitting shots. None of this would have been possible without them,” said Alyssa Thomas after the match.
With nine of the first 11 points scored by the Aces, Connecticut was forced to take a timeout due to 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 played a significant role in Connecticut’s 14 of its 17 successful shots throughout the quarter.
In the first two games of the series, Bonner struggled, scoring a total of 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 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.”
A Team Effort
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.
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.
To regain momentum, The Sun scored the first five points of the third quarter. For the rest of the game, Las Vegas was only able to pull as close as six.
Jackie Young scored 22 points for the Aces and A’ja Wilson added 19. Las Vegas’ initial attempt to capture the franchise’s first WNBA title was unsuccessful. The club had previously lost in sweeping fashion in the Finals in 2008 and 2020.
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