The New York Liberty emerged victors with an 87-76 away victory against the Las Vegas Aces in Michelob ULTRA Arena on Tuesday, and Breanna Stewart did not fail to put things into perspective as far as the Commissioner's Cup Championship is concerned.

"I think the biggest key to success was we really locked in on the game plan, you know, obviously, we just dropped two games,” Stewart said in an on-court interview with USA Sports. “We're not happy about it, but this team is resilient. We want to be better, and today was a good step in the right direction."

The importance of the words needs to be explained. The Liberty were at 11-6 going into the contest following two consecutive losses.

Stewart contributed ‌20 points, scoring from 7 to 16 shots from the field with two three-pointers, and 15 points scored in the second half. Ionescu also scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Liberty team went for 13 of 31 from the three-point line.

Also, Stewart made it evident that there is a mutual respect in the rivalry of Las Vegas, coming up to June 30.

"So tons of respect to Vegas, they have, you know, a lot of my Team USA teammates and we'll see them in the Commissioner's Cup next week," Stewart added in the same on-court interview with USA Sports.

For Las Vegas, A'ja Wilson scored 16 points and added nine rebounds on 7-of-18 shooting. The New York team will aim to recreate this performance in their next match with the Commissioner's Cup trophy at stake.

The game on Tuesday also brought one of the greatest players in the NBA to the sidelines, and that made things even more exciting.

Breanna Stewart Greets Giannis Antetokounmpo

Just a day after being traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat, Giannis Antetokounmpo made his way to Michelob ULTRA Arena, where he sat courtside to watch a WNBA game involving three MVPs. Not a terrible way to start his life at the Heat.

As Giannis watched A'Ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones play, Stewart approached him after the game to say hello.

The WNBA took the video and shared it on its social media channels, and it went viral.

Stewart herself was an MVP as well and had received the title in 2018 and 2023. The fact that both winners could share a positive post-match conversation made the night feel like a league crossover, which was natural because of the company that they were in.

The night also became a way to prepare for the future games. Antetokounmpo got a chance to see the Liberty and Aces teams before they face each other on June 30 in the Commissioner's Cup Championship.

Who will be winning the 2026 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta