VANCOUVER—The result is nice, but today will carry a black cloud over the heads of the Las Vegas Aces.
On Sunday, the Aces were able to accomplish their mission of protecting their playoff seeding with a 86-69 victory over the Toronto Tempo in Vancouver.
While the game will count as a win on the Aces’ record, they suffered a catastrophic loss on their own end. During the third quarter, NaLyssa Smith went down in a heap holding her left knee after it buckled when she came down after catching a high pass. She left the court unable to put any weight on her left leg, and her long-term status is currently unknown.
The Aces did not provide an update on the severity of Smith’s injury during the postgame press conference.
“The emotions are what they’re going to be but, obviously, when you lose a sister to an injury. You never want to see that happen to anyone,” lamented A’ja Wilson after the game. “Lyss is a soldier. God has his hands on her and we’re going to continue to be beside her through this whole process.”
A’ll-A’round Greatness
Not only did Wilson continue her dominance, but she managed to showcase some unexpected playmaking chops as well.
Wilson leading the Aces with 27 points and securing a number of milestones (second-most 20+ point games in WNBA history and 100 25+-point games) is not too surprising. However, what jumps out from the stat sheet is how close the four-time MVP came to securing a triple-double, recording seven assists and rebounds in the contest. Jackie Young was also productive in all areas (21 points, five assists, three rebounds), but the ball just seemed to find Wilson all night, and she made the most on nearly every touch.
“It’s not bad,” Wilson said about her performance, made even more impressive with the context that she was questionable with a back injury heading into the game.
“The medical team made sure that I was feeling pretty good. Right now, I just got to continue to get into rest and recovery mode. It’s not the best, but they made sure I was ready for this game, and I’m glad that I was able to show up for my teammates today.”
Relentless defense
While the Tempo would keep matters close for the most part, the Aces would disrupt the momentum every time it seemed to swing against them.
As a group, the Aces would record 11 steals and force 15 turnovers on the Tempo. Even better for the Aces was how multiple players got involved in making plays. Four players (Wilson, Smith, Stephanie Talbot, Mai Yamamoto) would record two steals each, and the performance caught the attention of head coach Becky Hammon, who has consistently preached the value of team defense.
“We just got to continue to execute at a high level,” said Hammon. “That’s what I’m concerned with is…making sure the effort’s there. The consistency is there. We have our goals, they know the goals. They reached a couple of them today, so that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
Seizing the moment
In the first half, the Tempo stuck around and gave the Aces all they could handle.
However, everything seemed to click in the second. The Aces would begin to open up a sizable lead on the back of Wilson and Young’s efforts, as well as the defense continuing to hold the Tempo to under 20 points. It would reach a point where the Aces would go up by 20, and only a late run from the Tempo when the game was all but decided kept the final scoreline respectable.
“We just kept pounding away,” said Hammon.
“Got our defense going a little bit, so that was good to see. At the end of the day, those are professional basketball players over there and you have to come in with the appropriate respect and the appropriate mindset, and we did.”
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