Plum, Young each score 26 as Aces dominate Liberty in WNBA Finals opener

Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum each scored 26 points and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces pulled away from the New York Liberty in the second half to win 99-82 on home court in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.

Las Vegas point guard Chelsea Gray added 20 points and nine assists on her 31st birthday, A'ja Wilson had 19 points and eight rebounds. Young made five of eight three-pointers.

Five New York players scored in double figures. This season's league MVP, Breanna Stewart, led the Liberty with 21 points, Jonquel Jones totalled 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marine Johannes came off the bench to score 14. Sabrina Ionescu, who entered averaging 16.3 points in the playoffs, was held to seven.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Wednesday in Las Vegas.

The Aces made sure of that by turning into another one-sided game going on an 11-2 run that turned a 67-63 advantage late in the third quarter into a 78-65 lead early in the fourth. Las Vegas led by as much as 94-72 with 3:32 remaining.

No team this post-season has solved the Aces, who are 6-0. The Liberty proved they could beat Las Vegas in the regular season, but for a franchise still chasing its first championship, New York will have to come back with a considerably different response.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and newly approved Aces minority owner Tom Brady sat courtside next to Las Vegas majority owner Mark Davis.

Brady was part of a celebrity turnout that also included Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, actor and Las Vegas resident Mark Walhberg and WNBA Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes.

Recording artist Ashanti performed at halftime.