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Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
The Seattle Storm have been here before. But they also know that despite taking a 2-0 lead in the WNBA Finals with a 104-91 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday in Bradenton, Florida, the work isn't done yet.
It could be Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App) if the Storm keep playing like this. They shot 50% from the field in their 93-80 Game 1 victory Friday and were even better Sunday at 57.1%. They had three players score at least 20 points: Breanna Stewart had 22 and Alysha Clark and Natasha Howard each had 21. It's just the third time in Finals history that has happened.
Sue Bird continues to direct the offense to perfection. She had 10 of the Storm's WNBA Finals-record 33 assists and has totaled 26 assists through two games. Las Vegas fought back in this game, just as the Aces did in Game 1, but the Storm were just too much.
"Nothing's done yet. No title. No trophy has been handed out after tonight's game," Clark said. "Coming in Tuesday, being down 2-0 they are going to come in and leave it all out there. Our job is going to be even tougher come Tuesday night."
But not nearly as tough as the Aces' job will be to come back in this series. Here's what we learned in Game 2:
Bird is at her best at the right time
Bird has talked about the frustration of missing the 2019 season after left knee surgery and then being limited to 11 games in the 22-game regular season because of a bone bruise in the same knee.
But Seattle still finished 18-4 even with her limited availability. And now that it's the playoffs, Bird has been at the top of her game.
Bird followed up her two-point, 16-assist performance in the opening game of the Finals with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-of-7 from 3-point range) and 10 assists Sunday. It was her second double-double in her four WNBA Finals appearances -- the other was in Game 3 of the 2018 Finals, when she had 10 points and 10 assists in clinching the title against Washington -- and is her fifth in the playoffs.
Bird, who turns 40 on Oct. 16, has been pushing all the right buttons for the Storm. It's no surprise. She has been doing that since 2002. Bird will be going for her fourth WNBA title Tuesday. The Storm also won in 2004 and 2010, along with 2018.
Bird told ESPN's Holly Rowe after Sunday's game that she has nothing "profound" to say about her success over such a long time. But what she said is actually exactly what players must do to win titles, and it is harder than it sounds.
"You really just have to stay in the moment, possession by possession," Bird said. "[The Aces are] good. It's tough. These are battles. The score doesn't indicate it. So I'm sure it'll be the same in Game 3."
Bird, Stewart are getting all kinds of help
Remember the old "Asteroids" game? When the space rocks start coming at you faster and faster from all sides? That's what it's like to face Seattle at its best, which has been the case through much of the season and definitely in the playoffs.
In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Stewart (37) and Jewell Loyd (28) led the way in scoring, with Bird piling up the assists (16) and Epiphanny Prince adding 11 points off the bench. Clark went 2-of-13 from the field for four points, while fellow starter Natasha Howard had six points and Jordin Canada came off the bench with three.
On Sunday, Clark, Howard and Canada combined for 52 points and shot 19-of-33 from the field (57.6%). The Aces limited Loyd to eight points Sunday and Prince didn't score, yet Las Vegas still lost by 13 points, the same margin as Game 1.
"We're even deeper than we were in 2018," Clark said of that Storm championship team. "And so when you have a team that any night, it can be anybody's night, that's tough to guard. You know, it goes to show just the caliber of players that we have."
Clark also had six assists and five rebounds, while Howard had eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
"Our team chemistry's been amazing since we've been in this bubble," Howard said. "It's amazing, and everybody knows what they are capable of doing on the floor."
It hurt the Aces not to get to the line
Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer wasn't happy with the officiating Sunday, as his team was just 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Four of those were by A'ja Wilson, the other by Angel McCoughtry. The Aces' average attempts (23.4) and makes (19.0) from the line led the WNBA during the regular season.
The Storm were 12-of-15 from the line Sunday. They were middle of the pack at sixth in the regular season, averaging 15.4 makes and 18.9 attempts from the line.
The five free throws was the lowest total for the Aces in any game since the franchise moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio for the 2018 season, and they had taken fewer than 10 just once during that time (nine vs. Washington in 2019). The Aces' opponents averaged 20.6 fouls against them this year, but the Storm committed just 11. The lowest opponent foul total against the Aces before that this year was 16.
"We had no favor from the referees today," Laimbeer said. "We only shoot five free throws ... that doesn't make any sense to anybody. So that was a very determining factor in this ballgame, where we got fouled and didn't get calls, and they got fouled and they got the call.
"They go to the free throw line more than us, and they're jump-shot shooters? Please. That makes no sense. So that was a big part of this basketball game, also. It's not the whole story, but just a part of it, and so was our turnovers."
Las Vegas had 15 turnovers to 10 for Seattle. Clark said the Storm's strategy includes limiting how often they send the Aces to the line.
"They all use their body really well to draw fouls and that was a point of emphasis coming into the Finals," Clark said. "Making sure we are in legal position, keeping our hands up, and if they finish over us and make tough shots that way, we can live with that. But not trying to block shots and bail them out by getting cheap fouls."
Cannon can help make up for Hamby's absence
The loss of Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby, who suffered a knee injury in the semifinals, has affected the Aces. But on Sunday, they had help from reserve forward Emma Cannon, who had 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and five rebounds. She tied McCoughtry as the Aces' second-leading scorer Sunday behind Wilson, who had 20 points.
Cannon, 31, played three seasons at Central Florida then finished at Division II Florida Southern her senior season in 2010-11. She played one year previously in the WNBA, in 2017 for Phoenix. She was a late addition for Las Vegas in the bubble this year, playing just one regular-season game. However, she has appeared in five playoff games.
"We needed a physical presence and that's what she is," Laimbeer said of the 6-foot-2 Cannon. "A little undersized, but at the same time she's not afraid. We knew that in the first two days we had her. She's not afraid to go out there and do her thing. You saw some good post moves today, which we really needed. It was a big boost for us today, no question about it."
Stewart continues to make her case in the postseason
Stewart wasn't the regular-season MVP, but she's on her way to possibly being the WNBA Finals MVP for a second time. She earned that honor in 2018, when the Storm swept the Mystics in the Finals. After missing last season with an Achilles tendon injury, she has returned to superstar level in 2020.
Stewart has 59 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists in the two Finals games. She is shooting 22-of-37 from the field (59.5%) overall, and 10-of-18 from 3-point range (55.6%). She is doing it all very well within the Storm's system, too, as 20 of her 22 baskets have been assisted.
According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, Stewart went 8-of-12 in Game 1 against Wilson as her primary defender and 5-of-7 against Cannon as her primary defender in Game 2. The only half-court defender who has had success against Stewart is McCoughtry, who has held her to 1-of-5 shooting.
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