Breanna Stewart, Liberty Hyped by Fans for Dominant Commissioner's Cup Win vs. Aces

In a potential WNBA Finals preview, the New York Liberty once again dominated the Las Vegas Aces to win the Commissioner's Cup.

Just over a week after their 38-point win over Vegas, the Liberty came back with an 82-63 victory for their first Cup title.

Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggled to find their shooting touch in the game. New York's star duo combined to shoot 8-of-30 from the field. Marine Johannes picked them up with 17 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

Courtney Vandersloot had her first double-double since July 2 with 11 points and 10 assists in 35 minutes. Jonquel Jones earned Commissioner's Cup MVP honors after putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Fans and analysts heaped praise on the Liberty for a very impressive performance against an Aces team that has been steamrolling every other team in the league all season.

The Liberty have hit their stride since an 88-83 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 28. They have won seven straight games since then, including each of the last five by at least 10 points.

Head coach Sandy Brondello's defense has been terrific during this stretch. Only two teams have hit the 70-point mark against them. They rank third overall with a 99.4 defensive rating, behind only the Aces (96.7) and Connecticut Sun (98.0).

The Aces are still in the driver's seat for the league's best record (27-3) and home-court advantage in the playoffs. They have a three-game lead over New York (24-6) for the top spot in the overall standings.

But the two head-to-head matchups have exposed significant flaws for the Aces that head coach Becky Hammon and her staff have to correct. Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson has only scored nine points in each of the two games.

The Aces are only 11-of-49 from three-point range against the Liberty. They lead the league with a 38.9 percent success rate from behind the arc overall.

Vegas still has two more games against the Liberty before the playoffs to get things figured out. The next meeting between the two teams is Thursday at Michelob Ultra Arena.