LAS VEGAS (August 16, 2023)—The Aces’ (27-3) regular season 20-game home winning streak will be on the line Thursday night when they take on the New York Liberty (24-6) as regular season play continues from Michelob ULTRA Arena. The game, the third in the four-game season series between the league’s “Super Teams,” will tip at 7 pm PT and air on Amazon Prime Video and Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network.

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The two sides most recently met Tuesday night in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship, with New York earning an 82-63 victory and Jonquel Jones (16 points, 15 rebounds) taking MVP honors. Statistics accumulated in the game do not count towards regular season statistics, nor does the result impact the regular season standings.

Las Vegas and New York boast the best offenses in the WNBA, averaging 94.0 and 88.5 points per game respectively. The Aces figure would break the league record for single season scoring average should they maintain it through season’s end.

Not only will Thursday’s game again feature the two best teams, but it also features the two leading MVP candidates in A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.

Both players are surrounded by equally impressive All-Star teammates, as they accounted for a combined 7 spots in the W’s mid-summer classic—four for the Aces (Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young) and three for the Liberty (Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot). Team Stewart upended Team Wilson back on July 15, 147-127.

Gray has 207 assists on the year, and is 6 away from eclipsing her own single-season franchise record after dishing out 212 in 2022. She is also posting career-bests of 15.0 ppg and 6.9 apg (also a franchise high). Gray has increased her distribution production since the All-Star break, averaging 6.5 apg in the 21 games prior, and 7.8 apg in the 9 games since.

Kelsey Plum is averaging 19.0 points per game on the year and shares the Aces franchise single-game scoring record with Wilson after netting 40 in July. She is having a banner shooting year, connecting on career-bests of 48.9 percent from the field overall and 56.8 percent from 2-point range. She also improved her 3-point shooting (.379 over the first 21 games to .404 over last 9) and free throw shooting (.896 to .966) after the All-Star break.

Not to be outdone, Young also is having a career season. She is surpassing her previous season highs with 18.6 ppg, 53.8 percent shooting from the field, a league-high 47.4 percent from 3-point range and 58.3 percent from inside the arc.

The Liberty have won six-straight games and 9 of their last 10, thanks in part to Jones, who is averaging 12.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg on the season, but has produced a double-double in 9 of her last 11 games and averaged 15.3 ppg and 12.2 rpg over that span.

Ionescu, who set the All-Star 3-Point Contest record with 37 points in the final round at Michelob ULTRA Arena in July, is averaging 16.8 ppg, 5.9 apg and making a league-high 3.6 3-pointers per game, while connecting on 44.7 percent from 3-point range (3rd in the W).

Sloot is the Liberty’s playmaker and averages 8.0 apg to go with 10.1 ppg. She has dished out double-digit assists 10 times this season.

NEXT UP

The Aces will celebrate Alumni Night with approximately 60 franchise alumnae during their final home game in this current five-game stint when they host the Los Angeles Sparks (12-18) on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 12 pm (ABC).