Las Vegas puts Phoenix on the brink of elimination with a 90-88 victory
HIGHLIGHTS: Las Vegas 90, Phoenix 88
PHOENIX — League MVP A’ja Wilson hit a 7-foot fadeaway jumper with three-10ths of a second remaining to cap her third double-double of the series and the Las Vegas Aces survived a furious Phoenix comeback for a 90-88 victory over the host Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA playoffs Wednesday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
NATE TIBBETTS POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Wilson had 34 points and 14 rebounds, Jackie Young had 21 points and Jewell Loyd added 16 as the Aces took a 3-0 lead in the league’s first best-of-seven championship series. Las Vegas moved within one victory of its third WNBA title in the past four seasons.
Wilson took an entry pass from Chelsea Gray and shot from the left side of the lane over Alyssa Thomas for the game-winner.
Thomas had 14 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Mercury. DeWanna Bonner scored a team-high 25 points and Satou Sabally had 24 points before leaving due to an apparent head injury with 4:26 remaining.
Thomas found Bonner at the foul line extended on the Mercury’s final play, but Bonner’s catch-and-shoot drew iron but did not fall.
The Mercury will try to dig out of a 3-0 hole in Game 4 at home on Friday. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only major North American professional sports team in history to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win a championship series.
Chelsea Gray had 11 points, five assists, three steals and three blocks on her 33rd birthday for the Aces, who had eight blocked shots.
Mercury Postgame Download: Alyssa Thomas & DeWanna Bonner
Kahleah Copper scored 11 straight Phoenix points in the fourth quarter as the Mercury rallied from a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 86 on Bonner’s 3-pointer with 1:41 left.
Gray hit a layup and Bonner made two free throws to set up the final sequence.
The Aces opened the game as if another WNBA championship was just a matter of time.
Loyd entered three minutes into the first quarter and quickly took center stage, making four 3-pointers in less than two minutes. The last, with 3:48 left, capped a 17-0 Aces’ run for a 21-8 lead.
The Mercury came back with a 13-0 run of their own to tie the game at 21 on a Bonner 3-pointer. Sabally had 13 points in the first quarter, which ended with the Aces taking a 26-23 lead.
LAS VEGAS ACES POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Young’s 3-pointer three minutes into the second quarter made it 36-29 and forced a Phoenix timeout. Wilson’s three-point play gave the Aces a 44-36 lead with four minutes left in the half, and the Aces used a late 11-2 run for a 55-43 halftime lead. Young had nine points in the second quarter.
Wilson scored nine straight Las Vegas points midway through the third quarter as the Aces opened a 68-52 edge.
Loyd made two free throws with 27.2 seconds left in the third for a 76-59 lead after three quarters, their largest, after being struck in the face by Copper on a scramble under the Mercury basket. She was tended to on the bench but returned as the foul was reviewed.
–Jack Magruder, Field Level Media
