A’ja Wilson doesn’t make mistakes often, but she did late in the fourth quarter of the Las Vegas Aces’ 90-88 win over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 on Wednesday night. With about 40 seconds left in a tie game, she lost the ball and it went out of bounds, turning possession over to Phoenix.
Phoenix was not able to capitalize on the four-time MVP’s error, and the ball was back in Wilson’s hands with five seconds left and the game still tied. Wilson was guarded closely by Phoenix’s DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas, but it didn’t matter. She stepped back, floated up and hit a jump shot to put her team up with less than a second left on the clock.
The play call was simple at that moment, according to Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
“Give the ball to A’ja and get out of the way,” Hammon said after the game. “It’s all the play was.”
Hammon’s confidence stems from Wilson being one of the league’s best players since she entered the league in 2018. Her list of accolades is long for a reason, and she’s hit buzzer beaters before, including one to beat the Chicago Sky late last season.
“Yeah, I feel like in that moment, if a coach has to tell me what to do, I’m not doing my job, and she just drew up a play,” Wilson said. “It wasn’t really even a play. It was pretty much what you saw. And I’m appreciative that Becky trusts me in those moments, but those playoff basketball moments, those are the moments that you live for. So I’m glad I was able to show up.”
Las Vegas dominated most of the game, owning a 17-point lead after three quarters. In addition to Wilson’s huge effort (34 points, 14 rebounds), Jackie Young had 21 points and Jewell Loyd added 16 points off the bench.
After the game, Wilson praised Loyd’s attention to detail in how she can find so much success in the playoffs. Loyd, playing with the Seattle Storm at the time, swept Wilson’s Aces in the 2020 WNBA Finals, and the 11-season veteran has 38 career playoff games under her belt.
“I had a front row seat to a sweep in the bubble with Jewell with gold Kobes on, and when I saw Jewell with gold Kobes on, I said, yeah, it’s been cool,” Wilson said. “To be able to play alongside Jewell and to see her work is truly magical. What she does. I mean, it’s her footwork, her work ethic. It’s just like, it’s to the T, like I think everything that Jewell shoots is going in, because I’ve seen her work on these shots. I’ve seen her make these shots, and it’s a method to her madness, and it’s been a joy to play alongside and to watch. Sometimes my jaw is dropped because I’m like, that’s that damn Jewell Loyd!”
While the Aces now own a commanding 3-0 series lead, there’s a reason Wilson had to hit that game-winner. Phoenix started to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, as the Aces’ Dana Evans and NaLyssa Smith found themselves in foul trouble. Then, a scary injury to one of Phoenix’s best players seemed to give the Mercury some life in the final minutes of the game.
After going up for a rebound, on the way down, Satou Sabally appeared to knock her head on Kierstan Bell’s knee. Sabally crumpled to the floor and was down for several minutes before being helped to the locker room. Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts didn’t have an update on her status after the game.
Once the game restarted, Kahleah Copper came alive, scoring 11 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter. She went on a personal 9-0 run to get Phoenix within one point of the lead.
But when Wilson is on the court, the Aces are difficult to stop. Wilson continues to break records, notching just the fourth 30/10 game in WNBA playoff history, and also breaking the league record for most points scored in a postseason run. Wilson is now the first player in WNBA Finals history to post consecutive games of 25+ points and 10+ rebounds.
With such a force at the helm of an Aces core that’s largely played together for years, breaking through is a challenge, as the Mercury have discovered the hard way this series.
“We’re facing a team that has been through this together. It’s not a team that is just figuring it out. They’re a well-oiled machine,” Tibbetts said. “And all these situations they’ve been in together. They’ve won together, they’ve lost together. And, as hard as it is, that stuff matters.”
With this win, the Aces are on the doorstep of winning their third title in four years, with a potential sweep looming in the first best-of-seven WNBA Finals series. Sabally’s availability is a huge question mark for the Mercury as they try to stave off elimination, and they don’t have long to recover — Game 4 is on Friday at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN).
