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Who doesn't love a good, friendly rivalry? The Las Vegas Aces played a riddle of familiar faces against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday at Michelob Ultra and came out on top 96-81. A'ja Wilson had 35 points and 13 rebounds, another impressive night for the three-time MVP. But her spectacular night was about more than team-high buckets! The Aces star also led the team in assists.
“They call me Ricky Rubio,” Wilson joked during the post-game conference. The Las Vegas star player is in great company. A beloved NBA legend, Rubio was praised for his substantial assist numbers throughout his career. Although high assist numbers may not be Wilson's focus, being a team player who wins is.
“I did not come into this season thinking I was going to lead this team in assists,” Wilson said post-game.
“But, I do know that we're going to see a lot of different defenses, which means I can't shoot over five people, and I have amazing teammates surrounding me, so I'm giving them the basketball, and I'm just glad they're making shots.”
Las Vegas' core four set the tone from the tip. Kiah Stokes offered seven points, four rebounds, and two steals in her 18 minutes of hard-hustling game time. Chelsea Gray made more than half of her 3-point attempts, providing the Aces with 15 points. Across the board, on the defensive end, “The Point Gawd” was there with a block, steal, and rebound when needed. Gray had four rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. The back-to-back champions had something to prove tonight, and they showed up and showed out.
“Coming into this game, we needed to turn something, we needed to set the tone and start to get our identity. It's early, and this is the time when you form your identity,” Wilson said in the post-game conference.
You can't talk about this game without highlighting the efforts of Jackie Young, who added 26 points, making half of her field goal attempts. But as aggressive as she had to be on the offensive end, the “Silent Assassin” had to be just as calculated on the defensive end. Young's defensive assignment was former Aces star Kelsey Plum.
“We're both two competitors. So we were just going at it,” Young said of the matchup.
Friday night's matchup was Plum's first game in Las Vegas since she was part of the three-team trade in January. Sparks got Plum; Aces acquired Jewell Loyd from Seattle. Loyd may have had a slow night on Friday against the Sparks, but has stayed a consistent starting lineup player. With the ball popping Friday night, everyone appeared to be where they needed to be for the Aces to come out victorious.
Friendly battle to the death
It was a stellar night for Las Vegas, which went on a 23-2 run in the first quarter, followed by a 15-3 run in the second, to take a 54-36 lead. The showdown was on, and it was a challenge for Los Angeles to catch up even after a short spurt in the first half and a late push. With a roster full of seasoned stars and rookie hopefuls, the Sparks did their best to contain Wilson.
“Be disruptive, hit her a lot, push her off her routes. She pushed back, in my opinion,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said during the post-game presser.
While Los Angeles had their sights set on disrupting the Aces' star player, Las Vegas worked away at former teammate Plum. Plum brought the Dawg back to the House, leading the Sparks with 17 points. That team high was from 6-19 shooting, 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.
“It takes a lot of energy to chase her down,” Hammon said of Plum in the post-game conference.
“We know that she's going to score because she's a great player. But, just making it difficult for her,” Young said post-game.
And that's what the Aces did. Plum didn't secure a bucket until the second quarter. The former Aces player committed five turnovers and four fouls. Both Plum and Sparks coach Lynne Roberts received technical fouls for arguing with officials on separate occasions.
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Without a doubt, Plum was in good company on her side of the court. Odyssey Sims scored 15 points. Another former Aces player on the Sparks brought the heat to the House on Friday. Dearica Hamby offered 14 points for the Sparks, but it was not enough to Spark a win and only ignited a fire in the Las Vegas Aces locker room—that and a loss that continues to shake the Aces' core.
Pass and grab
“The Seattle game left a bad taste in our mouth,” Wilson said after Friday night's win against the Sparks.
The 102-82 loss at Seattle on Sunday may have left an impression, but the Aces used it as fuel for Friday night's game. While defense continues to be a sore spot for the two-time champions, lessons learned from the loss translated to the court against the Sparks. While teams continue to struggle to find that chemistry, the Aces have begun to lock in on their winning synchronization. There are several new Aces (Dana Evans, Jewell Loyd, Aaliyah Nye) who fit right in with the team, making it challenging for opposing teams to stop them.
“We're in a work of progress. We did some good things to build off, considering the game we were coming off; that was a better showing for us. That was more like it!” Hammon said at the post-game conference.
While Hammon says it's about moving the ball and staying open, Wilson's assists are not the only way the team plans to keep up the WNBA team to beat.
“I'll get her a Ricky Rubio jersey, but Chelsea Gray needs to lead this team in assists,” Hammon said.
“Every time we play, it's about Aces. We need to focus on us, and I think that's what you saw today,” Wilson said post-game.
“Defensively, you saw us string possessions together where, in some cases, we don't always do that, so we can bottle that up and continue.”
The Las Vegas head back to Seattle on Sunday to play the Storm. The hope is the Aces will be able to weather whatever storm is to come.
“At the end of the day, our Olympians need to play like Olympians,” Hammon said after Friday night's win against the Spark.
Sunday's matchup against the Seattle Storm is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. PST.
