PHOENIX (June 17, 2026) – Strong second half defense and 74 combined points from NaLyssa Smith, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young helped catapult the Las Vegas Aces (11-4, 6-1) to a 86-76 win against the Phoenix Mercury (4-12, 2-4) on Wednesday night in Mortgage Matchup Arena. The win cemented the Aces’ spot in the 2026 Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game against New York (11-4, 6-0). Since both teams boast an 11-4 overall record, the Liberty will host the June 30 game by virtue of a higher average point differential in all games played–New York has outscored opponents by 6.6 ppg and the Aces own a +3.4 ppg differential.

Kahleah Copper scored a team-high 26 points for the Mercury, who also had 3 other players score in double figures.

The Aces are 6-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play and have earned $19,000 for the Public Education Fund, the Aces nonprofit partner for the 2026 CC games. Las Vegas’ all-time record in Commissioner’s Cup games stands at a league-high 34 victories.

The Aces, who captured the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup title behind the MVP play of Chelsea Gray, return to its third Commissioner’s Cup title game. Las Vegas also advanced in 2023, but fell to New York. In the five previous cup championships, there have been five different winners and, including 2026, Las Vegas and New York are the only teams to advance to the final game three times. Minnesota played for the cup twice.

Stats | Gallery | Highlights

TEAM	1	2	3	4	Final
LVA	24	21	23	18	86
PHX	28	21	15	12	76

1st Quarter Highlights (Phoenix 28, Las Vegas 24)
Neither team led by more than 4 points until Las Vegas ran out to a 19-12 advantage, which included back-to-back and-1s by Wilson, with under 5 minutes to go. Phoenix responded with a 16-5 run, during which it shot 4 of 4 from 3 and 5 of 7 overall, to close the quarter. The Aces shot 45% (9-20 FGs) from the floor and hit just 1 3-pointer; the Mercury shot 66.7% (10-15 FGs) and hit 4 of its 5 attempts from 3-point. DeWanna Bonner finished the game with 10 points, all scored in the first frame, while Wilson led the Aces with 8.

2nd Quarter Highlights (Phoenix 49, Las Vegas 45)
Phoenix struck first, but Las Vegas scored the next 6 for a 31-30 game with just over 8 minutes to play. However, the Aces were unable to move in front and the Mercury extended their lead to 47-38 before the Aces scored the next 7 to cut it to 2, 47-45. Copper netted 2 made free throws to give the Merc a 4-point lead heading into halftime. Both teams hit 53.3% (8-15 FGs) of their shot attempts, but Las Vegas only hit 1 3-pointer and Phoenix made 3. Both teams made all their free throw attempts for a combined 6-6 FTs. Wilson scored a high of 10 points; Copper and Kyara Linskens scored 6 apiece for the hosts.

3rd Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 68, Phoenix 64)
Young scored all 8 points in an 8-2 opening run to give Las Vegas a 53-51 edge. From there, there were 5 lead changes and 5 ties. With Phoenix holding a narrow 64-63 lead, Wilson hit the go-ahead layup with less than 2 minutes on the clock and Steph Talbot connected on a 3 to close the third. Both teams shot 43.8% (7-16 FGs) from the floor, but the Aces made 37.5% (3-8 3pt FGs) and the Merc shot a cold 14.3% (1-7 3FGs) from deep. Additionally, the Aces scored 6 from 7 attempts from the line and Phoenix did not earn a free throw attempt. Wilson and Young led Las Vegas with 8 points each, while Copper notched 7.

4th Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 86, Phoenix 76)
Smith got the Aces going in the final frame, scoring their first 7 points in a 7-5 spurt. After a Phoenix 3 brought it to within 3, 75-72, the Aces’ defense held the home team without a field goal for the remainder of the game, with Phoenix scoring its final 4 points from the charity stripe. On the other end, Las Vegas scored 11 and twice went up by 10, its largest lead of the night. The Aces held the Mercury to an icy 2 of 11 shooting (.182) and 1 of 4 (.250) from distance in the fourth, and 7 of its 12 points came from the charity stripe. Las Vegas shot 41.2% (7-17 FGs) from the floor, but went scoreless from beyond the arc. Smith led all scorers with 9 points and Copper added 5.

KEY STATS

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The game saw 12 lead changes and 12 knotted scores.

The Aces’ largest lead was 10 and the Mercury led by as many as 9.

Young’s 9 assists contributed directly to 19 points and Gray’s 9 assists led to 18.

	FGM-A	PCT	3PM-A	PCT	FTM-A	PCT	OFF	DEF	REB	AT	PF	ST	TO	BK
LVA	31-68	.456	5-21	.238	19-25	.760	9	20	29	25	13	18	9	6
PHX	27-57	.474	9–21	.429	13-14	.929	5	25	30	18	19	5	22	2

Points scored ….

	In the Paint	2nd Chance	Fast Break	Off TOs	Bench
LVA	42	13	18	28	4
PHX	30	2	14	17	32

GAME NOTES

Wilson’s game marked the 7th time in WNBA history a player recorded at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals — she is the only one with multiple such games (3). The only other 4 players to do so were Tamika Catchings, Maya Moore, Brandy Reed and Candace Parker.

Wilson has now scored at least 20 points in a league-leading 12 games in 2026 and finished in double figures in a league-leading 39 consecutive games.

Wilson, who finished with 4 offensive boards, broke a tie with Sophia Young-Malcom (249) to claim the No. 1 spot in franchise history and now has 253.

Wilson notched her 21st career game with at least 7 stocks.

Young (1,132) is now 2 assists away from passing Becky Hammon’s former franchise assist record of 1,133 and moving into second in all-time franchise rankings. Gray tops the list with 1,170.

Wilson tallied her 98th 20/20 double-double, which trails only Tina Charles‘ 109 in the league record books and she upped her 30/10 double-double league record to 28; Breanna Stewart is No. 2 on that list with 16. Wilson also owns the league record for 25/10 double-doubles, which now stands at 55, ahead of No. 2 Charles’ 42.

Las Vegas’ 24 stocks (steals + blocks) is the most recorded by any team this season, surpassing 23 by Toronto vs Washington on June 12, and the 18 steals recorded by the Aces equaled Toronto’s previous league-high, also recorded on June 12.

Young tied her career-high with 5 steals, previously set against Golden State on Aug. 6, 2025.

Young scored 20+ points for the 5th time this season and Smith hit the 20-point mark for the 2nd time.

Smith posted the 11th game of her career shooting at least 80% from the field (minimum 4 FGA) and the 5th time this season.

Wilson’s 5 steals marked her season high.

Wilson is the only player in W history to record 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ steals, 3+ assists and 2+ blocks.

The franchise is now 4 wins away from becoming the fifth team in league history with 500 wins (Connecticut, LA, NY, Minnesota).

NEXT UP: Las Vegas is back at ‘The House’ on Sunday, June 21, to begin a three-game home stand, starting with its second bout against the Golden State Valkyries (10-5). The game, which tips off at 1 p.m., will be broadcast on CBS.

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