Alyssa Thomas’ historic WNBA Finals performance staves off elimination for Sun

The Connecticut Sun stayed alive in the WNBA Finals on Thursday night thanks to a historic and heroic performance from Alyssa Thomas in Game 3 against the Las Vegas Aces.

The three-time All-Star forward strung together the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history and helped the Sun to a 105-76 victory. Thomas finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.

Jonquel Jones added 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Dewanna Bonner had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win.

The Aces shot the ball reasonably well – 45% — but couldn’t overcome the 14 turnovers. Las Vegas was also outrebounded 38-24.

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Jackie Young led the way with 22 points for the Aces. A’ja Wilson had 19 points, four rebounds and three blocks in the loss.

Thomas was an All-Star for the third time in her career this season. She only played in three games in 2021 after suffering a torn Achilles. She battled back to start in all 36 games for the Sun this season. She averaged 13.4 pints, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists this season.

The Aces lead the series 2-1 and are in search of their first championship in franchise history. The may have to wait at least one more game before clinching. The Sun are also in search of their first title. It’s their fourth WNBA Finals appearance in their history.

Game 4 will be played at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. If the Sun win again, the final game of the series will go back to Las Vegas on Tuesday night.