LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas and Phoenix faced serious questions during the regular season about whether they were championship material, then came dangerously close to being forced to clean out their lockers before the WNBA Finals.

The second-seeded Aces were a Jackie Young follow shot away from losing to Seattle in the opening round and then were extended to overtime of Game 5 by an Indiana team with more stars watching than playing.

The No. 4 Mercury found themselves down 20 points to Minnesota and a probable 2-0 semifinals series deficit to the league's top-seeded team.

But some way, somehow, both teams made it to the best-of-seven championship series, which opens Friday, and those postseason escapes leave two opponents that aren't likely to back down regardless of the situation

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