Aces on verge of returning to WNBA Finals after Game 3 win over Fever
Aces coach Becky Hammon offered one of her many apt metaphors before the Aces beat the Indiana Fever 84-72 Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in Game 3 of their best-of-five WNBA playoffs semifinals series.
“We know it’s going to be raucous in here. It’s going to be rocking,” Hammon said. “As an opposing coach and an opposing player, you’ve really got to embrace this type of atmosphere. You’ve got to figure like you’re a gladiator going into the (Roman) Colosseum and everybody’s against you.”
True to Hammon’s words, on a night when four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson struggled to get going, the Aces went into hostile territory and came out one win away from returning to the WNBA Finals for the third time in four years.
Guard Jackie Young led the No. 2 seed Aces with 25 points, while forward NaLyssa Smith added 16 points and four blocks. Point guard Chelsea Gray recorded 15 points and six assists.
Young credited the victory to “just being aggressive.”
“Whenever we’re executing on the defensive end, we’re able to play in transition at the pace that we want to play at,” Young added.
Wilson finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks after shooting 1 of 11 from the field in the first half. The Aces star opened scoring for both teams with a 3-pointer as the Aces started on a 7-2 run, but she went on to miss her next 11 shot attempts.
Guard Kelsey Mitchell had 21 points for the sixth-seeded Fever, but her team couldn’t capitalize on Wilson’s poor shooting night.
Hammon said Wilson was not hurt but “got hit a lot,” criticizing the officials for only sending her to the line for one free throw in 38 minutes of play.
“(Wilson), she’s just going to find hers. There’s no doubt about it. They have five Olympians on their team, so you’ve got to play them all honest,” Fever coach Stephanie White said when asked about losing despite limiting Wilson’s impact. “At the end of the day, I felt like tonight was a lot more about our shot making.”
The Fever shot 35.6 percent from the floor and 61.9 percent from the free-throw line, compared with the Aces’ respective 50.8 percent and 82.4 percent.
After her team ended the first quarter with a 20-16 lead, Hammon said during an in-game television interview that the Aces needed to be more disciplined on both sides of the ball.
With 3:48 remaining in the second quarter, Fever guard Lexie Hull exploited that reality as she secured her team’s third offensive rebound in one possession and circled around for a putback. She egged on the reinvigorated crowd as the Aces called a timeout still leading 30-23.
Hammon was right to pull her team in for a huddle, as the Fever had 10 offensive rebounds to that point compared with the Aces’ three. Eight of those Fever offensive boards came in the second quarter.
Three straight Indiana 3-pointers, including two from Mitchell, cut the Fever’s deficit to three points with 1:19 left to play until halftime. Indiana had mounted a 9-3 run in just two minutes.
Wilson missed a shot to close the half after Mitchell scored again and the Aces headed to the locker room with their 10-point lead reduced to 35-34.
The Fever took their first lead of the game as they opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run, but the Aces caught a break as Hull picked up her fourth foul. Hull headed to the bench with the game tied at 48 and 4:47 left in the third quarter. She had posed an issue for the Aces with 13 points and eight rebounds to that point, and she finished with 16 points.
The Aces ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run powered by Wilson, guard Dana Evans and Young to enter the final frame with a 59-56 lead. Young’s closing bucket was assisted by a stunning Hail Mary inbound pass from Gray.
“There was definitely a moment there where this place was rocking and all the momentum was building up,” Hammon said. “(Gray) is greatly capable of making those plays down the stretch and just kind of breaking your spirit a little bit.”
The Aces defense continued to be stifling as the team opened the fourth on a 10-3 run, and the Fever went without a field goal in the fourth quarter until the 2:25 mark.
Smith said the outing simply showed that Wilson is “human,” and Hammon asserted that the Aces will need even more from the MVP’s supporting cast as they enter Sunday’s Game 4 in Indiana with a 2-1 lead and a major opportunity.
“We’re not looking for a Game 5. We want to come in, take care of business,” Hammon said. “Obviously, the fourth quarter was great, but we still feel like there’s some areas we can do much better.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.