WNBA Semifinals Game 4: Liberty and Aces fight to force winner-take-all Game 5 deciders

The champions punch back

Faced with elimination on Friday night, the WNBA’s two most decorated franchises reminded the basketball world why championship pedigree cannot be discounted.

In Brooklyn, Breanna Stewart erupted for 28 points and 12 rebounds while Sabrina Ionescu knocked down four clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter as the New York Liberty held off the Atlanta Dream 88-82 at Barclays Center. Atlanta’s lead in the best-of-five series was trimmed to 2-1, halting what threatened to become an unthinkable sweep.

Hours later in Las Vegas, three-time MVP A’ja Wilson delivered a postseason tour de force. Wilson racked up 31 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks to propel the Las Vegas Aces past the expansion Golden State Valkyries 86-79 at Michelob ULTRA Arena, similarly cutting Golden State’s series cushion to 2-1.

Game 4 in Brooklyn: Dream at Liberty

The first leg of Sunday’s double-header tips off at 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC in front of a sold-out Barclays Center crowd. For Tanisha Wright’s Dream, Friday’s loss offered clear lessons. Despite 22 points and 14 rebounds from Angel Reese, Atlanta committed 17 turnovers and struggled against New York’s switching pick-and-roll coverage.

If the Dream can reassert their interior dominance and limit transition runouts, they can book their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013 on Sunday afternoon. For the Liberty, sustaining the defensive urgency that produced 11 steals in Game 3 is the singular path toward forcing a Game 5 in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Game 4 in Las Vegas: Valkyries at Aces

At 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, the drama shifts west to Michelob ULTRA Arena. The expansion Valkyries proved in Game 3 that they belong on the championship stage, erasing a 14-point deficit in the third quarter behind Tiffany Hayes (22 points) and Veronica Burton before Wilson’s late heroics closed out the game.

Becky Hammon’s Aces have now stabilized their rotation, finding vital perimeter contributions from Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum down the stretch. But Golden State still hold the series lead and the psychological cushion of having won two of three games against the reigning champions. Sunday will determine whether the Valkyries make unprecedented expansion history or the Aces push the series to an epic Tuesday decider in San Francisco.