The New York Liberty and the Last Vegas Aces are battling in a matchup between the last three WNBA Champions on Tuesday night, and a clash that has become the premier rivalry in women's basketball this decade. However, in this edition of the game, one of the stars of the show went down.

Aces star A'ja Wilson left the game in the second quarter after taking a hard fall and appearing to injure her wrist. Teammates immediately huddled around her in the immediate aftermath of the injury.

Wilson remained in the game to shoot the pair of free throws following the foul, splashing both of them home. However, after a few more trips up and down the floor, she checked out of the game and went straight to the locker room.

After the halftime break, where the Aces held a very slim 42-40 lead against the defending champs, they didn't get the update they were certainly hoping for on their star. Wilson was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game with a wrist injury on the ESPN broadcast.

Head coach Becky Hammon decided to go small without Wilson in the lineup. Kierstan Bell started the second half in Wilson's place as Hammon tried to get more shooting on the court. Meanwhile, Wilson returned to the Las Vegas bench with a wrap on her wrist.

The Liberty were doing an excellent job on Wilson defensively even before she left the game. She was held without a field goal in the first half and had scored just two points on 0-for-3 shooting, missing her only 3-point attempt. She also recorded four rebounds and two assists, so she was impacting the game in other ways.

Still, it makes sense that the Aces are going to play it safe with their star as the All-Star break approaches. Even while the Aces have struggled, going just 9-9 through their first 18 games, Wilson has still been one of the best players in basketball. In 15 games this season, she is averaging 21.9 points and nine rebounds per game.

The playoff race in the WNBA is very crowded, and the Aces will need Wilson to be at full strength for the home stretch of the season in order to get the best seed possible. Playing it safe with this injury is the best way to do just that.

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