JONQUEL JONES NAMD MVP AFTER PUTTING UP 16 POINTS AND 15 REBOUNDS
By JACK MALONEY
LAS VEGAS, August 16, 2023 – After 27 seasons, the New York Liberty finally have their first trophy. One of the league’s three remaining original franchises, the Liberty pulled away from the host Las Vegas Aces in the second half of the Commissioner’s Cup championship on Tuesday night for a comfortable 82-63 victory. Jonquel Jones was named MVP of the game after putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds.
As the final score indicates, what was supposed to be a showdown between two of the best offenses the league has ever seen did not transpire. It took 3:31 for anyone to score, and 3:48 for anyone to make a shot from the field. Save for a few short runs by each team, that trend largely continued for the rest of the night. Increased defensive intensity from the regular season played a part, but both teams missed plenty of open shots.
In the end, the difference proved to be the Liberty’s ability to find their range from downtown in the second half, and their more productive bench. They finished 15 of 35 from 3-point land, compared to 5 of 26 for the Aces. Five of those Liberty 3s were made by Marine Johannes, who came off the bench to pour in a game-high 17 points. New York’s bench outscored Las Vegas’ 28 to eight.
Although the game does not count in the standings, the Liberty (24-6) are the first team to win on the Aces’ floor this season. Las Vegas (27-3) had been 15-0 at home, but they’ll have a chance to get back at New York when they meet again on Thursday at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. The two teams will also play on Aug. 28 in New York.
For winning, each player on the Liberty earned a $30,000 bonus from the $500,000 prize pool, with Jones receiving an extra $5,000 for winning MVP.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
JONES DOMINATES
After a slow start to the season, Jonquel Jones has returned to her best MVP form since the All-Star break, and that was evident once again on Tuesday night. She was the best player on the floor, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and two blocks en route to earning Commissioner’s Cup MVP honors.
This game doesn’t count towards regular season statistics, but it’s the ninth double-double in 13 games for Jones since the All-Star break, compared to just two in 18 games prior to the mid-season event. In addition, the Liberty are now 13-0 when she gets at least 10 shot attempts, with nine of those games coming since play resumed after the break.
Some of that is Jones getting fully healthy, some of it is the Liberty getting her more involved and some of it is Jones simply reminding everyone why she’s one of the best players in the world. She’s an extremely efficient interior scorer, a dominant rebounder on both sides of the glass and one of the most impactful rim protectors around.
Against the Aces, Jones shot 3 of 5 in the paint, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds — there have only been 17 instances of a player grabbing at least that many rebounds in a game this season, and Jones has three of them in the last three weeks — and helped hold A’ja Wilson to a 2-of-10 shooting performance.
As this win showed, the Liberty are a completely different team when Jones is playing at this level.
SOURCE: CBS Sports
See CBS Sports article at https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/liberty-vs-aces-score-new-york-wins-2023-wnba-commissioners-cup-championship-for-franchises-first-trophy/
