The New York Liberty could have won the 2023 WNBA championship. They were the clear second-best team, facing a juggernaut Las Vegas Aces squad that was down two starters heading into Game 4 of the Finals.

The Aces just made a few more plays, beating the Liberty by a point in the deciding game and hoisting the championship trophy at Barclays Center.

In Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA semifinals on Tuesday, the Liberty again found themselves in a close game with the Aces. This time, it was New York that did just enough down the stretch. While the Aces let Sabrina Ionescu get to the rim one too many times, missed a few too many free throws, and made a few too many turnovers, New York cashed in just enough.

It ended in an 88-84 Liberty win, sending them to Las Vegas for Game 3, one win away from a return to the Finals.

“[Mistakes are] too hard to recover from when you’re playing the best team in the league,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said after the game. “Let there be no doubt they're the best team in the league.”

The Liberty did what the best team in the league is supposed to do. They responded when Las Vegas threw the first punch and jumped out to a 27-19 lead.

That’s when Courtney Vandersloot came off the bench to score seven points in five minutes in the first quarter. Then, Kayla Thornton took over in the second, scoring all nine of her points without a miss from the field.

The Liberty didn’t have those answers last year.

When the playoffs began, Vandersloot accepted her new role on the bench, saying all the right things and still finding ways to help the team. There seemed to be a shift in Game 2, however, as Vandersloot was more aggressive, not only in the first quarter, but throughout. Her block late in the third quarter on a Jackie Young shot, followed by a made three a few seconds later, sent the Barclays Center crowd into a frenzy.

That shift came with a simple realization.

“The best thing for me was realizing that my role really didn't change when I'm out there,” she said. “I'm expected to do the same thing, and I think that was a big eye opener for me…once I'm out there, it's all the same.”

Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu played the closer role for the Liberty

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) dribbles the ball up the court against the Las Vegas Aces during game one of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center.
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Like any two-time-defending champions would, the Aces fought back every time the Liberty extended their lead. They finally drew even on an Alysha Clark three with 1:19 remaining in the game.

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That's where the Liberty did what they could not do last year. They finished the game.

Up 84-82 with 10 seconds to play, the Liberty forced a Vegas turnover. Chelsea Gray fouled Ionescu, sending her into the stands, where she landed in Carmelo Anthony’s lap. She then went to the line needing to hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game.

Last year, in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Washington Mystics, she was in an even more dire situation. Down two with 11 seconds to go, she missed a pair of free throws that could have tied the game. Jonquel Jones bailed her out with an offensive rebound and a couple free throws of her own, but that could have just as easily sealed the game in Washington’s favor.

This time, there was no doubt. And while Ionescu joked after the game that she made the free throws because “JJ was in my ear telling me I better make them,” Jones saw it as an example of the team lifting each other up.

“We all just came up big for one another because we all want it so badly,” Jones said.

Even still, the Aces fought back. A’ja Wilson scored while using only five seconds of game time, and Breanna Stewart had to go to the line to make two more. She did exactly that.

For Vandersloot, once the Aces sent Ionesscu and Stewart to the line, there was no question what was coming next.

“Those are two of the best free throw shooters in clutch moments,” Vandersloot said. “That’s why every play we’re running to get it in, it’s one of them. And everybody knows it.”

Time and again, the Liberty had chances to give the game away. They weren’t perfect by any stretch, but they did just enough to beat the Las Vegas Aces.

This isn’t 2023 anymore.