Photo Credit: Las Vegas Aces/Instagram
By: Jennifer Portee
The Indiana Fever had the defending champs exactly where they wanted them: tied series, no room for error, and a building full of people waiting to see whether Las Vegas could actually be sent home in the first round.
A’ja Wilson wasn’t having it.
Wilson scored 36 points and pulled down 10 rebounds Thursday night as the Aces beat Indiana 94-83 in the deciding Game 3, ending the Fever’s season and moving Las Vegas past a series that got much tighter than anybody expected after Game 1.
Indiana came into Las Vegas with real confidence after its 99-89 win in Game 2. Caitlin Clark had 27 points and 15 assists in that one. Kelsey Mitchell scored 26. Aliyah Boston added 22. The Fever didn’t just catch the Aces on an off night they were the more urgent team, the more connected team, and the team making the right play down the stretch.
Las Vegas had already seen its eight game winning streak snapped. The Aces had also spent most of the last four years as the team nobody wanted to see when the playoffs arrived. Suddenly, they were one bad night away from getting bounced before the semifinals.
The pressure was there early. So was Wilson.
She got to her favorite spots before Indiana could settle into its coverages free-throw line jumpers, quick turns in the paint, strong finishes after absorbing contact. The Fever tried different bodies on her. They brought help. They made a few possessions ugly. None of it lasted long enough to knock her out of rhythm.
That is the problem with Wilson in a game like this. You can force a difficult shot and still watch her make it. You can send the second defender and give up a clean look somewhere else. Eventually, she makes a defense choose what it can live with.
Las Vegas jumped out 31-23 after the first quarter and spent the rest of the night and never really let Indiana get comfortable after that. Indiana made runs, but it never got the kind of clean offensive stretch that changed Game 2 in its favor. Every time the Fever looked ready to make it uncomfortable, the Aces got a stop, Wilson scored, or Chelsea Gray settled the possession down.
Gray finished with 23 points. Jackie Young added 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, doing a little bit of everything while Wilson carried the scoring load.
For Indiana, Mitchell finished with 23 points, but Las Vegas made her take difficult shots all night. Boston had 19 points and 10 rebounds, fighting through bodies around the rim and giving the Fever a needed presence inside. Clark finished with 18 points, but Las Vegas made her work for every look and forced six turnovers along the way.
That is where Game 3 got away from Indiana.
In Game 2, Clark was dictating pace and finding Mitchell and Boston before Las Vegas could load up. This time, the Aces picked her up earlier, shaded defenders toward the ball and clogged the lanes that had been open in Indianapolis. Clark still found ways to score, but the easy reads were gone. The Fever had to work deep into possessions just to get a decent look.
That’s not an excuse. It’s the adjustment championship teams make.
Indiana gave Las Vegas a real series. The Fever took a 102-85 Game 1 loss, went home, answered with a 10-point win, and forced the Aces to prove they still had the focus and toughness that comes with being the defending champion.
They did.
There was no panic from Las Vegas once the game tightened. The Aces trusted Wilson, trusted their defensive pressure and trusted the experience that has carried them through deep postseason runs year after year.
The Fever made the champs work, but Las Vegas leaned on its experience when the series was on the line.