Subscribe
Follow Us
Two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson has done it again for the Las Vegas Aces, scoring 42 points in Tuesday night’s game against the Dallas Wings. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to earn the back-to-back champions the win. The Wings beat the Aces 93 to 90.
“It’s tough to win on the road when you shoot five for 20, 5 to 19 26 percent and then just get handled in the paint,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said after Tuesday’s loss in Dallas. “We’re not that good offensively this year to give up 93, we’re not. We haven’t shot it well. We haven’t moved it well enough. So, you better defend.”
The intense game started in the Aces' favor with several leads in the first half. Las Vegas is coming off a close win against the Chicago Sky. In Tuesday evening’s matchup in Dallas, the two-time champions appeared to be taking no chances. The all-star Aces came into the first quarter on fire, and everyone got a piece of the action.
“I kind of take what the defense gives me, see what the next day looks like, see how they’re guarding me, and kind of go from there,” Wilson said in the post-game conference.
“But we didn’t get the win so none of that matters.”
Wilson now has 43 straight games with double figures, the longest active streak in the WNBA. The Aces star’s 42 points are the most in a WNBA game this season, and the second most in franchise history. Her accolades continue to beg for an answer to this question: How are they still losing?
Las Vegas has had a rough road run, going 2-3. Tuesday’s game in Dallas’ College Park Center was the final game on this contentious road trip. This time the close call at the end of the fourth quarter ended with an upset.
Dallas was also coming off a win. The Wings won 113 to 110 against the Sparks on Sunday. But on Tuesday, the Wings still had a lot to prove. Dallas' defeat against the Aces was the second time the Wings stacked two wins in a row this season. The team last did this in May.
The Wings are playing like they know they still have a shot at the playoffs, although the team sits in fifth while the Aces’ were in third. At this point, the championship is any team's game, and Las Vegas has to play with that thought in the back of their minds if they want the dynasty.
“In this league, anybody can be beat, anybody can win. So the records really don’t paint the whole picture,” Chelsea Gray said in the post-game presser.
42 point game for MVP-to-be
One thing Wilson is known to do is get the ball in the basket by any means necessary. At the end of the third quarter, the Aces were up by six, Wilson took it over the edge by knocking in a bucket that she was determined to get in. With 10 minutes left to play, the Aces were up by eight.
At the tail end of the first half, the Aces and the Wings were nearly neck-and-neck. All the Wings needed was a good few stops, and that’s precisely what they got. Almost every team knows you must make it tough for the two-time MVP gunning for the title this 2024 WNBA season.
The second half of the game was the toughest for the Aces. While Wilson went 6-of-8 from the field for a high of 13 points in the third, the Wings continued to outscore the Aces in the paint. As the clock wound down, the tension was up, and it was crunch time.
With five assists, Kesley Plum showed she was playing with and for her team. Jackie Young, the Silent Assassin, silently stepped in where needed. She put up 17 with six assists. The three of these Aces stars were moving together in synchrony throughout the game. Wilson also offered two assists. Of her 22 field goal attempts, she landed 16. The record is the most in a game in the WNBA this season.
“A’ja was a monster, got a decent game from Jack. I thought KP was getting downhill, getting people the ball,” Hammon said post-game.
“She only had five assists but probably had five or six hockey assists. So she was doing a great job distributing, didn’t necessarily shoot, but she was doing some other good things for us, and we got a pretty good game out of Chelsea.”
Gray’s ballplay is so unique and creative. Her passes continue to wow, and she’s an essential player on the court who not only helps move the ball but also helps coach her teammates. She keeps the team moving and in motion together. She plays aggressively, and most importantly with great reads.
But while Wilson and the Aces’ core three are consistent, some of her teammates aren’t. That proves to be the challenge for Hammon.
“The rest gotta do more around it, and it had to do more with the defensive end tonight than the offensive end,” Hammon said in Tuesday night’s presser.
Fouls and rebounds make a bad combination
While the first half looked promising for the two-time champions, the second half served as a reminder that defense continues to be an issue.
“I’m furious with our defense in the second half,” Hammon said in the post-game conference.
“We didn’t defend, we fouled, and we didn’t rebound. We shot the three terrible again. So, that’s a bad combination. Some of those things are in our control. Some of them aren’t.”
The Wings' Natasha Howard, Satou Sabally, and Arike Ogunbowale proved harder to contain than expected. Arike put up 40 points, Sabally 38, and Howard 34. There were moments when all three were crushing it in the paint, and the Aces just could not hold them. The Wings were able to land 32 points in the fourth quarter, which may have been the make-or-break moment.
With the final buzzer nearing, Wilson attempted to make a three to save her team from defeat and tie up the game. But it didn’t land.
“We got A’ja shooting the basket at the three-point line, I’m confident in that. But we go down the stretch, and that fourth quarter just killed us,” Gray said in the post-game press conference.
Arike was a beast on the offense, keeping the Aces’ defense on its toes. She’s also the league leader in steals and attempted to give Las Vegas that work.
The Wings out-rebounded Las Vegas 40-26, including 13-4 on the offensive glass, which helped give them a 23-6 advantage in second-chance points. Las Vegas also gave up 15 points to Dallas at the free-throw line. Though it was a nail-biter, it was not pretty.
“There’s ways that we can shave off points just by being disciplined, being alert,” Hammon said after the game on Tuesday.
The loss dropped Las Vegas a half-game behind Seattle and into fifth place in the WNBA standings. With the number of games left in the season dwindling, the fight for the three-peat is becoming all the more difficult for the Aces.
“Everybody is trying to play their best basketball heading into September, into October,” Gray said on Tuesday.
Maybe a return home will shake things up for the back-to-back champions. One can hope. The Aces return home on Friday, Aug. 30, to play the Atlanta Dream. Tip at Michelob ULTRA Arena is at 7 pm PT.
