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Aces roll over Fire as regular season continues
- Terrel Emerson
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
Though intended to be a time for rest, Las Vegas had to sit through the all-star break coming off the heels of a one-point collapse on the road against Washington.
Having had almost a full week to recover from that loss, the Aces secured a, 98-83, win over the Portland Fire Tuesday, July 28 from the Michelob Ultra Arena. That locks up a 3-0 regular season sweep for the defending champions over the first-year expansion team.
“Pretty good,” head coach Becky Hammon said. “Except for that third quarter, pretty good. We gave up too much there but good job, everybody is just trying to get back in a flow.”
With the win, Las Vegas is now 19-8 on the year after entering the night a half game back of 19-8 Golden State. Additionally, both teams were looking up at Minnesota, who sat at 23-6 on the season.
Up next, the Aces will get another chance to try its hand against this year’s version of the New York Liberty. That contest is set for Thursday, July 30 from Michelob Ultra Arena with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
Las Vegas is 0-2 against New York this season including a loss in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game.
“We want to build habits,” Hammon said. “We want to build a level of consistency, I want to see the defensive end of the floor being played first and foremost. Be locked in on that end and then I think we become a very tough team to beat.
“I’ve said it before, ‘When we play defense, we become an elite team. When we don’t we’re a very beatable team.”
It was a fast start to the latest game for the Aces after they went up by as many as 17 points in the opening frame against the Fire. That happened on the strength of a 13-for-17 start from the field for a 76% shooting mark.
Moreover, the team connected on seven of its eight three-point attempts in the first 10 minutes.
Even with that fast shooting start to the game, Las Vegas would open the second and fourth quarters cold. Both frames saw the home team need more than four and more than three-minutes respectively to make its first field goal.
Just before halftime, the Aces made up for it in the form of a 10-0 close heading into the locker room.
As it had all night long, Portland fought back and opened the second half on a 9-2 spurt. Earlier in the game, it would go on a 10-2 run after falling behind by 14 points. Ultimately, the visitors would trim the deficit to five points on a 21-10 open to the third quarter.
Forward A’ja Wilson recorded a double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds. She tallied 10 points in the first quarter on her way to a final shooting performance of 7-of-10 from the floor with a 13-for-14 mark from the free throw line.
Fellow No. 1 overall pick Jackie Young added 25 points on 9-of-14 from the field including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. In the fourth quarter, she converted on an and-one layup attempt to put her team back up 17 points. Her make on the ensuing free throw ran Las Vegas’ lead to a game-high 18 points.
Guard Chelsea Gray posted 17 points and a game-high seven assists in the winning effort. Fellow guard Jewell Loyd added 11 points off the bench for Hammon’s club.
Loyd shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc despite the Aces’ 2-for-14 mark from deep in the final three quarters of the game following that hot shooting start.
“Jewell’s a big part of us,” Hammon said. “And when she gets it going it relieves a lot of pressure in a lot of ways. It gives us that bench production, it gives us great spacing. She’s always going to do the little things to help us win.”
Forward NaLyssa Smith was a last-minute scratch from the game as she battled an illness. Her status for Thursday against New York is still unknown.
Additionally, guard Mai Yammato made her WNBA debut and played three minutes in her first career game as an Ace.
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