Burton's late three and Stokes' block lift Valkyries over Aces 83-81
With 41.5 seconds left and the game tied at 76, Veronica Burton pulled up from 28 feet off a Gabby Williams pass and buried it. Then, with 3 seconds left and Vegas down two, Kiah Stokes blocked Chelsea Gray's reverse layup (ESPN play-by-play). The Golden State Valkyries won 83-81 and lead the Las Vegas Aces 2-0. Las Vegas led for only 11 seconds, but its fourth-quarter comeback put Golden State's win in doubt until the final possession.
The finish
Golden State was up 74-68 at 3:35 after Kalani Brown got hit with a defensive three seconds technical and Kayla Thornton hit the free throw. Then Vegas ripped off eight straight. Dana Evans hit a three at 2:43. Gray hit another at 2:10 to tie it at 74, and Jackie Young assisted both. A'ja Wilson drove for a layup at 1:36, and the Aces had their first lead of the night, 76-74 (play-by-play).
It lasted 11 seconds. Williams answered with a 13-foot pull-up at 1:25. Gray missed a 29-footer and Vegas got hit with a shot clock violation. Then Burton's dagger.
The last 41 seconds were a free throw contest. Stephanie Talbot blocked a Williams jumper at 14.3, and Gray made two at the line to make it 79-78. Thornton went 2-for-2. Young went 2-for-2. Burton went 2-for-2 for 83-80 at 6.4. Young made the first at 5.9 and missed the second, Gray grabbed the board, and Stokes met her at the rim. Burton got the rebound and that was it (play-by-play).
How Golden State built the lead
The first half was all Valkyries. They jumped out 17-7 in the first quarter and led 19-11 after one. In the second, Tiffany Hayes went off. She hit a 26-foot three at 9:20, a pull-up at 8:36, an and-one at 6:53 and another bucket at 5:50. That's 10 points in about three and a half minutes, and Golden State led 42-31 at the half (ESPN game page).
The lead hit 17 at 64-47 on two Thornton free throws late in the third. It was 66-55 going into the fourth. Golden State led 95 percent of the game (ESPN box score).
The numbers that matter
Hayes was the difference off the bench: 21 points in 17 minutes on 6-of-10 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line. Williams scored 20 but needed 17 shots. Thornton had 16 and went 7-of-7 at the line. Burton only scored 8, but 3 of them were the biggest of the night. Stokes didn't score at all, and she still grabbed 7 rebounds and made the play that sealed it (box score).
Las Vegas shot better from the field and from three and finished with 19 assists to Golden State's 12. The Valkyries made up ground with 10 offensive rebounds, 25-of-27 free-throw shooting and an 8-0 edge in fast-break points (box score).
Wilson did her part with 24 points on 9-of-16 and 6-of-6 at the line. Gray had 19 and 6 assists. Young only made 2 of her 7 shots but scored 14 by going 8-of-10 at the line, with 8 assists and 4 steals. Talbot gave them 10 on 3-of-4 shooting in 21 minutes. Jewell Loyd didn't play and isn't in the box score (box score).
Game 3 take
Game 3 is Friday, October 9, at 6:30 p.m. PT in Las Vegas on Peacock and NBCSN (ESPN game page). The Aces scored 26 points in the fourth quarter after managing 11 in the first. Their late offense kept them alive; the slow start left them little room for error.
My pick is Las Vegas at home. The Aces had the ball with a chance to tie despite falling 17 behind. Another night of giving Golden State extra possessions on the glass would make that pick hard to defend.
Box score: ESPN.
How this story was made: Ryan Moalemi picked the story and the angle. Full Court Buckets gathers its own game data and verifies it against official box scores. AI tools drafted it from that data and the sources linked above so it could post the same night, then Ryan reviewed and edited it before publishing. How we make Full Court Buckets
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