Stewart and Ionescu lead New York Liberty to 87-77 Game 1 win over the Las Vegas Aces in semifinals

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart knows she wasn't at her best last year in the Finals when the Las Vegas Aces knocked off the New York Liberty.

She made sure she that wouldn't happen in Game 1 of their semifinals series this year, scoring 34 points to help the Liberty beat the Aces 87-77 on Sunday.

“I think I’ve just kind of grown from it, had a lot of time to reflect on it,” said Stewart, who was dealing with the death of her father-in-law from cancer right before last year's series. “How I can be better. How to handle things collectively better. I don’t forget who I am and what I can do. ... That wasn’t my most proudest, but I'll continue to be better now.”

Game 2 of the best-of-5 matchup is Tuesday night in New York.

“Do or die, you have to win Game 2,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “No other way around it.”

The two-time defending champions have only trailed once in a series the last two years. That was against Seattle when they also were down 1-0. The difference was that they were at home for the first two of those games.

“We had to beat them three games in a row. We had our backs against the wall before,” Hammon said.

Kelsey Plum scored 24 points and A'ja Wilson added 21 for the Aces.

“It's a loss, that’s the only thing i see,” Plum said when asked about her scoring. “A lot of things I can do better individually and help my teammates collectively.”

This was a rematch of last season's WNBA Finals that the Aces won in four games, including clinching the championship in New York. The Liberty said they've had a scar from that loss and have used it as motivation all season long. New York had the best record in the league and earned the top seed in the playoffs.

Last season the Aces were the No. 1 seed, so New York had to go there for the opening two games of the Finals. The Liberty returned home down 0-2 and never could recover.

New York came out strong behind Stewart and led 28-21 after one quarter. Las Vegas closed to 37-34 with 4:11 left in the half before New York ended the second quarter with a 11-4 run to go up 10 at the break.

Stewart, who had 20 points in the opening 20 minutes, had six points in that spurt. She hit eight of her 10 shots in the first half.

“I think I wanted to come out and set the tone, be aggressive and take what the defense was giving me,” Stewart said.

The Liberty scored the first five points of the third quarter and the lead ballooned to 62-44 on a 3-pointer by Stewart. After a timeout, the Aces scored the next 12 points to get within six. Courtney Vandersloot finally ended the drought for New York with a layup that sparked a run to restore a nine-point advantage at the end of the third.

Las Vegas hung around and only trailed 75-67 until Sabrina Ionescu hit a 3-pointer with 7:34 left in the game and quickly turned to point to Spike Lee, who was sitting courtside wearing her jersey.

In Game 2 of the opening round series win over Atlanta, the basketball superfan gave the Liberty guard a high-five that she said felt like "New York was injected into my veins."

Ninety seconds later, she hit another 3 that whipped the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

Las Vegas couldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way.

Ionescu finished with 21 points and Jonquel Jones had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Liberty.

“We came out, it’s Game 1, we wanted to play with a sense of urgency and protect our home court,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.

This is the first time in the history of the league that the finals participants from the season before met in the semifinals. The league changed its playoff format in 2016 which allowed that to happen with the top eight teams making the postseason regardless of conference affiliation. Minnesota faced Los Angeles in the 2018 first round after the two teams had played in the WNBA Finals the previous two years.

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Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) is defended by New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) drives past New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich (13) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates after a basket during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game against the Las Vegas Aces, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) is defended by New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich (13) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) drives around New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) is defended by Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark (7) during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, center right, shoots over Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark (7) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, left, looks to pass around New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) looks to shoot between New York Liberty forwards Breanna Stewart (30) and Jonquel Jones, right, during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello reacts during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game against the Las Vegas Aces, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon reacts during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game against the New York Liberty, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) is defended by New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty forward Nyara Sabally (8) is defended by Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) is defended by Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, left, is defended by Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark, right, during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) shoots a 3 point basket during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game against the New York Liberty, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) is defended by Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark, left, during the first half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates with forward Breanna Stewart (30) during the second half of a WNBA basketball second-round playoff game against the Las Vegas Aces, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady has no regrets about pushing his teammates to be their best.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion didn’t hold back in responding to Baker Mayfield’s recent comments that Brady created a “stressful environment” during the 2022 season, his last with the Buccaneers.

After Mayfield threw his second touchdown pass to give Tampa Bay a 14-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Brady shared his thoughts from the booth about his replacement’s criticism.

“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings so there was a mindset of a champion that I took to work every day,” Brady said when Fox posted Mayfield’s comments on screen. “This wasn’t daycare. If I wanted to have fun, I would’ve went to Disneyland with my kids.”

Mayfield revived his career in Tampa Bay last season, led the Buccaneers to their third straight NFC South title and a playoff win. He got a $100 million, three-year contract to stay in Tampa Bay and has become a fan favorite.

Brady, who arrived in 2020, led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title that season — his seventh ring — and two division titles in 2021 and 2022 before he retired.

During an appearance on a Casa de Klub podcast, Mayfield said Brady’s intensity created a stress-filled environment in the locker room.

“The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out,” Mayfield said on the podcast. “They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun.”

Mayfield also took a shot at the way Brady handled disputes with former offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich over play calls.

“You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still call it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet," Mayfield said. "There were a lot of mind games going on."

Mayfield downplayed Brady’s reaction after leading the Buccaneers to a 33-16 victory over Philadelphia.

“I think a lot of that got taken out of context. None of it was personal, by any means," Mayfield said. "It’s just what he demanded of the guys, and that’s the aura of Tom Brady, and that’s what he did to bring a championship here. Nothing personal, but I talked with him before the game. He’s obviously happy for me and he knows the guys. He knows how much I enjoy throwing to Mike (Evans) and Chris (Godwin) because he did the same, and it’s fun to talk about some of the same experiences.

“A lot of things got taken out of context. He did it his own way and that’s why he has seven rings. Not much else needs to be said.”

Brady was back in Tampa Bay for the first time as an analyst. He greeted Mayfield and many former teammates, coaches and team staff before the game.

“There’s a way to approach this game and that’s with the right mindset and try to push each other outside of our comfort zone,” Brady said. “Great teammates do that.”

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Former quarterback Tom Brady, left, talks to Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen before an NFL football game between the Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)