Valkyries vs. Aces: Veronica Burton's Late 3 Wins Semifinals Game 2 as Golden State Goes Up 2-0

Veronica Burton had not made a field goal all night. Then, with the game tied at 76 and 41.5 seconds left, Gabby Williams kicked the ball to her for the second time in the same possession, and Burton let a 28-footer fly.

It went in. Burton's lone basket of the night, plus two free throws in the closing seconds, lifted the Golden State Valkyries past the Las Vegas Aces 83-81 on Wednesday night at Chase Center. Tiffany Hayes scored 21 off the bench against her former team, and Golden State took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.

A First Half Built for Ballhalla

For 30 minutes, this looked like a repeat of Sunday. Golden State led 19-11 after one quarter and 42-31 at halftime, a half Aces coach Becky Hammon later called "a really abysmal first half." The Valkyries' lead peaked at 17, and Las Vegas did not score a single fast-break point all night.

Golden State still led 66-55 after three quarters. Per ESPN's tracking, the Valkyries were in front for 95 percent of the game.

The Champs Wake Up

Then Las Vegas remembered it has rings. An 8-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters cut the deficit to 66-58, and the Aces kept chipping. Chelsea Gray's jumper with 4:46 left made it 73-68. Kayla Thornton made a technical free throw, but Dana Evans hit a 23-foot 3 off a Jackie Young assist at 2:43, Gray buried a tying 3 at 2:10, and A'ja Wilson's driving layup at 1:36 put Las Vegas ahead 76-74. It was another 8-0 run, and it handed Las Vegas the lead in a game it had spent almost entirely chasing.

Ballhalla had gone from party to panic in a matter of minutes.

Burton's Moment

Williams steadied things with a 13-foot pull-up at 1:25 to tie it at 76. Las Vegas then committed a shot-clock violation, returning possession to Golden State with 1:01 left, and the Valkyries worked it until Burton launched from 28 feet with 41.5 seconds left. Golden State 79, Las Vegas 76.

This was a big turnaround from Sunday, when Burton went to the bench at the 7:29 mark of the third quarter of Game 1 and stayed there. This time, the ball found her.

"I was just saying I had to do something out there," Burton said, adding of the two passes from Williams, "the second one I knew that had to go up."

What followed was a free-throw duel. Gray made two at 9.2 seconds. Thornton made two at 7.9. Young made two at 7.0. Burton made two at 6.4 for an 83-80 lead. Young made the first of two with six seconds left and missed the second, giving Las Vegas one more chance. Gray chased down the miss and attacked the rim, only for Kiah Stokes to swat the layup away and Burton to secure the loose ball. Ballgame.

Tiffany Hayes, Revenge Arc

Hayes was the best player on the floor in her 17 minutes: 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 8 of 8 at the line. Per the AP, Las Vegas is her former team, and she clearly enjoyed this one.

"It felt amazing to be able to go out there and get a win with the team that I'm with now," Hayes said.

Williams added 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, plus the tying pull-up and the pass that won it. Thornton scored 16 on just seven shots, making 3 of 5 from deep and all seven of her free throws. Golden State went 25 of 27 at the line, two more makes than Las Vegas in a two-point game. Burton finished with eight points, five of them from the line.

For Las Vegas, Wilson scored 24 on 9-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds. Gray had 19 points and six assists, Young had 14 points, eight assists and four steals, and Stephanie Talbot, back in the lineup, scored 10 on 3-of-4 shooting. Kalani Brown added nine points and eight rebounds off the bench.

The Possession Las Vegas Will Replay

It was the shot-clock violation with 1:01 left. Las Vegas had just stormed back from 17 down, the momentum was all theirs, and the Aces had the ball in a tie game with a chance to retake the lead and steal home court. Instead, the clock ran out on them, and Golden State turned the extra possession into Burton's 3. Comebacks need clean finishes, and Las Vegas fumbled the final page.

Free Throws and Fine Margins

• 25 of 27: Golden State at the free-throw line, compared with 23 of 26 for Las Vegas.
• 95 percent: The share of the game the Valkyries spent in the lead.
• 26-17: The Aces' fourth-quarter edge, which nearly saved them.
• 8-0: Golden State's advantage in fast-break points.
• 21: Hayes' points off the bench in 17 minutes.

One Win From the Finals in Year Two

Golden State leads the series 2-0 and is one win away from the WNBA Finals in just its second season. That is a fast climb for a franchise that, per the AP, made league history last season as the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in its inaugural season. Now they are 4-0 at Chase Center this postseason and have won six straight home games overall.

Game 3 is Friday in Las Vegas, and the defending champions are on the brink. Before Game 2, Hammon had talked about how important it would be to head home with a split. Afterward, she did not sugarcoat what comes next.

"I can't convince them that this is not a must-win, because if we lose we go home, and we stay home," Hammon said.

A Redemption Arc in One Possession

Burton went from zero field goals to series-swinging hero in one possession, a redemption arc so tidy that a streaming service would send it back for being too neat. Hayes summed up the room.

"I think I held my breath the whole time the ball was in the air," she said.

So did everyone else in Chase Center. The Aces had every chance to exhale first. They did not, and now they are 40 minutes from summer vacation.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details and quotes as reported by the Associated Press via WNBA.com.