A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart showed once again why they are arguably the best two players in the world, leading their teams to routs on the opening day of the WNBA playoffs. It’s no major surprise since they have helped their respective teams win five of the past six WNBA championships. On Sunday, they combined to scored 72 points, pull down 28 rebounds and block six shots. “She’s a walking mismatch,” New York guard Sabrina Ionescu said of Stewart, her Liberty teammate. The same could be said of Wilson, who was unstoppable in Las Vegas’ rout of Indiana. Hours after Wilson earned The Associated Press WNBA Player of the Year for a third consecutive season, the Aces All-Star had 38 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots to help Las Vegas roll to a 102-85 win over Caitlin Clark and the Fever. Wilson missed the World Cup to let her back heal and get ready for the playoffs. She had 22 points by halftime and finished the game making 15 of her 19 shots from the field. “I think we just showed up to work, and that’s what we need to do moving forward,” Wilson said. The Aces will try and close out Clark and the Fever on Tuesday in Indianapolis. Stewart also filled up the stat sheet in New York’s rout of top-seed Minnesota. She had 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks in the Liberty’s 91-75 road win. The Liberty forward became the first WNBA player to put up those numbers in a postseason game. It was the second time she’s had 30-plus points and more than 10 rebounds in a playoff game. “I think I was just really ready. I mean, if you don’t get up for these big moments, then you’ve got to rethink why you’re playing basketball,” Stewart said. “But for myself, mentally, I was just ready to do whatever it took to lead the team and get the win today. And my teammates found me and got me good looks at the basket, so I just wanted to keep going.” Stewart has been stellar all month, including leading the U.S. national team to a fifth consecutive FIBA World Cup title as she earned MVP honours. Even with the convincing win, Stewart isn’t taking anything for granted when the Liberty return home looking to close out the series on Tuesday. “We did this in Phoenix and then we got smoked on our home court,” Stewart said of the playoffs last year. “So being really intentional for the adjustments we’re going to make. Obviously, we had a ton of turnovers (19) and want to be better in that area, but we’re going to just have to have the same steadiness that we had for today; we’re going to do that on Tuesday.” ___ Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
