Burton’s Late Three, Hayes Off the Bench, and a Stokes Rejection Close a Game 2 That Las Vegas Nearly Stole
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Golden State Valkyries are one win from the WNBA Finals. They survived a fourth-quarter push from the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, 83-81, on Wednesday night at Chase Center to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinals.
Golden State led 66-55 after three quarters, then watched Las Vegas outscore it 26-17 in the fourth. Chelsea Gray tied the game with a late three. Veronica Burton answered with the biggest shot of the night, then made two free throws. Kiah Stokes blocked Gray’s last-second attempt after the Aces intentionally missed a free throw, and the Valkyries walked off with the series in their hands.
Tiffany Hayes scored 21 points in 17 minutes off the bench. Gabby Williams had 20. A’ja Wilson had 24 for Las Vegas on 9-of-16 shooting.
Game Flow
Golden State jumped on the Aces early. Kayla Thornton opened with a three, Gabby Williams scored inside, and the Valkyries led 19-11 after the first quarter. Las Vegas could not get the game organized. Brianna Turner played 11 scoreless minutes, and the Aces spent the opening period chasing.
The second quarter stayed Golden State’s. The Valkyries pushed the lead to 42-31 at the half, with Williams and Thornton stretching the floor and the bench keeping the pressure on. It was the same formula that produced Sunday’s 71-60 Game 1 win: make Las Vegas work for everything, and do not let Wilson’s touches become a runway.
The third quarter was a wash, 24-24. Wilson started to get downhill, Gray found rhythm, and the Aces cut into the margin without ever taking it. Golden State still led 66-55 heading into the fourth.
Then the game flipped. Las Vegas scored 26 in the final period. Gray hit threes, Jackie Young kept finding people, and Wilson finished through contact. Kalani Brown gave the Aces a second body on the glass with nine points and eight rebounds. With the Chase Center lead down to a possession, Gray buried a 23-foot three off a Young assist to tie it at 74 with 2:10 left.
Golden State called a timeout. Burton answered with a 28-foot three, assisted by Williams, to put the Valkyries back in front. The rest of the night was a free-throw and foul-management fight. Golden State finished 25-of-27 from the line. Burton made both free throws after a Stephanie Talbot take foul with 6.4 seconds left to make it 83-80. The Aces intentionally missed on the ensuing possession. Golden State came up with the rebound, and Stokes rejected Gray’s last look. Final: 83-81.
Clutch Performances & Key Moments
Tiffany Hayes was the swing. In 17 minutes she scored 21 on 6-of-10 shooting, went 8-of-8 from the line, added two assists and two steals, and never turned the ball over. When the starters needed a bucket that was not a three, Hayes got one.
Burton’s line does not look loud — eight points on 1-of-3 shooting — but the one make was the three that restored the lead, and she made 5-of-6 free throws, including the pair that made it a three-point game. Williams finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists on 7-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-8 from three. Thornton added 16, all of it efficient: 3-of-5 from deep and 7-of-7 at the line.
Stokes did not score. She grabbed seven rebounds, blocked the shot that ended it, and fouled out of the margins of the game with five personals. That is the job in this series.
For Las Vegas, Wilson was Wilson: 24 points, seven rebounds, 6-of-6 from the line. Gray had 19 points, six assists and two steals, and hit the three that tied it. Young had 14 points, eight assists and four steals, and went 8-of-10 at the line, but she was also in foul trouble with five. The Aces shot 44 percent and 8-of-19 from three. They just could not get the last stop, or the last rebound.
Both bigs for GSV got into foul trouble (5 each) and Coach Natalie Nakase was swapping them out every few possessions.
Takeaways from This Game
The lead was real, and so was the collapse risk. An 11-point cushion after three became a tie with two minutes left. Golden State’s fourth-quarter offense went quiet — 17 points — and the Aces’ stars finally looked like the team that swept the regular-season series.
Hayes is the playoff variable Las Vegas has not solved. Twenty-one points in 17 minutes, perfect from the line, is not a cameo. It is a closing lineup.
The glass still tilts Golden State. The Valkyries won the rebounding battle 30-25, with 10 offensive boards. In Game 1 they dominated the glass. In Game 2 they won it just enough, including the rebound that mattered.
Golden State is one win from the Finals, but this was not a wire-to-wire closeout. Las Vegas has Wilson, Gray, and a home floor on Friday. A 2-0 lead is only safe if the Valkyries defend the three-point game the way they did for three quarters, not the way they did for the last six minutes.
Coach’s Corner (My Thoughts on the Game)
This is why you foul when you are up by three. That was a lesson from earlier in these playoffs, and it showed up again tonight.
Gray’s tying three did not have to be a shot. When the lead is three and the clock is short, you foul. You make them earn points at the line, one at a time, and you take the catch-and-shoot three out of the game. Letting a shooter like Gray rise up and tie it is how an 11-point lead becomes a coin flip.
Golden State survived it. Burton answered, the free throws were cold-blooded, and Stokes said no on the last look after Las Vegas missed on purpose. That sequence saved the night. It should not have been necessary. Up three, late, you foul. Every time.
Next Scheduled Matchup Summary
Game 3 is Friday, October 9, in Las Vegas, with tip at 6:30 p.m. PT / 9:30 p.m. ET. Golden State can close the series on the road. Las Vegas needs a win to keep the season alive and two to send the series back to Chase Center for a potential Game 5. Wilson will get her shots. The question is whether Hayes, Burton, and the Golden State glass show up the same way away from home.
— Written on 10/7/26, By Kris Chaney, Women’s Basketball Journalist, The Best Damn W Show, Courtside REEL, and Courtside Raised
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