WNBA playoffs 2022: Chelsea Gray powers Aces to WNBA Finals as Storm’s Sue Bird heads into retirement

On the eve of the WNBA’s MVP announcement, it was only fitting that a collection of No. 1 overall picks played up to the moment as one of the league’s GOATs signed off.

The No. 1-seeded Las Vegas Aces came out of halftime on fire behind Chelsea Gray’s 31 points and 10 assists en route to a 97-92 win over the No. 4 Seattle Storm on Tuesday night in Game 4 of the semifinals at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The Aces advanced to the WNBA Finals, which start Sunday in Las Vegas. They await the winner of the Chicago Sky-Connecticut Sun series after the Sun forced a winner-take-all Game 5 at 8 p.m. ET Thursday in Chicago.

It also capped Seattle Storm stalwart Sue Bird’s career, as the legend announced this would be her final season. The crowd gave her an emotional send-off.

The Storm’s Breanna Stewart single-handedly tried to extend her teammate’s career by at least one more game as she put on a clinic in the first half Tuesday night, knocking down all five of her 3-point attempts and scoring 26 points. Stewart finished with 42 points.

Las Vegas held Seattle without a field goal for the first 5:19 of the second half and Gray’s big shots late grabbed control of the game for the Aces.

As the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Sue,” Bird gave an emotional postgame interview on ESPN.

“I’m so thankful for these 20 years, I’m going to miss it so much,” Bird told ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “It’s been my honor to play for this franchise and to play for these fans.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Chelsea Gray #12 of the Las Vegas Aces dribbles against Breanna Stewart #30 of the Seattle Storm during the second quarter in Game Four of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at Climate Pledge Arena on September 06, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)