After a mediocre start to the 2024 WNBA season, the Las Vegas Aces went on a roll before the All-Star Break. The Aces won eight of their last 10 matchups. However, A'ja Wilson and her squad took a tough 93-85 loss to Angel Reese and the Sky on Tuesday night. Usher was in attendance for the game, and Wilson shared some intriguing NSFW comments after the matchup that she later clarified.
Wilson was waiting to greet Usher behind others who were presumably taking a picture with him, and the Aces forward said this:
“They ain't did s*** all day, but they want to take a motherf******* picture with Usher.”
The next day, Wilson clarified that her words were simply an expression of being ready to go to the locker room after a tough bout with officials.
“I was ready to go to the locker room and the r*fs were doing a lot,” Wilson wrote on X alongside two laughing emojis. “Sorry for my language.”
Usher's presence did not provide much luck to the Aces, who got out to a slow start against the Sky. Chicago was up by as many as 17 points during the first half under the leadership of Chennedy Carter. Yet, Las Vegas stormed back and evened things up down the stretch. Chicago would not let up though, and their activity ended the Aces' several-game hot streak.
A'ja Wilson ended the night with 28 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks, and two steals. Wilson's offensive versatility was on full display. She made a variety of mid-range shots, post-ups, and knocked down one three-pointer. Despite Las Vegas' loss, they have big plans going into the All-Star break.
Aces look to regain dominance for second half of WNBA season
The reigning WNBA champions possess a 16-5 record, which places them fifth in the WNBA standings. They have all the tools they need to regain form and make another deep run in the Fall. Outside of A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas receives a stout effort from Kelsey Plum. The 29-year-old guard ranks second on the Aces in scoring with 18.8 points per game. In addition, she shoots 37.4 percent on her three-pointers.
Plum could not get things going against the Sky on Tuesday. She ended the night with just eight points and shot a lowly zero percent on eight three-point attempts. Chicago guard Marina Mabrey, who was just traded to the Connecticut Sun a day later, provided insight on how the Sky slowed Plum and the Aces.
“[The Aces] are a great team. They play together. Down the line, they're all great players. [For us] to go out there and have the type of discipline that we talked about in some of the games that didn't go so well for us in the first half of the season [was huge]. We kind of let up at times, and I know we let up at times today, but we were able to punch back and fire back and wake back up… just finding the hot hand,” Mabrey told reporters after the game.
Las Vegas wants to force its own hot hand is it prepares to rest and get back to work for the second half of the 2024 season.
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