ATLANTA, GA (June 2, 2023)—The Las Vegas Aces (5-0) remained unbeaten Friday evening as they upended the Atlanta Dream (2-3), 92-87. The Aces withstood a furious Dream fourth-quarter rally, and were led by A’ja Wilson, who scored a team-high 21 points, and Associated Press Player of the Week Jackie Young, who added 20.
Box Score / Photos / Highlights
KEY RUNS
First Quarter (Las Vegas 24, Atlanta 15)
Las Vegas led 15-13 with 3:43 remaining in the period, scoring 9-straight to extend their lead to 11. A’ja Wilson scored 10 points in the quarter as the Aces held the Dream to 31.8% shooting from the field.
Second Quarter (Las Vegas 45, Atlanta 30)
The Aces scored 9 of the first 12 points coming out of the break to lead by 15, 33-18. They would extend their advantage to as many as 16 in the quarter. Las Vegas shot 52.9% from the field in the period, while Atlanta made 27.8% of its shots.
Third Quarter (Las Vegas 72, Atlanta 58)
The Aces extended their lead to as many as 19. The Dream made 11-of-16 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from distance, while Las Vegas made 38.9% from the floor. Asia (AD) Durr was perfect from the floor (3-3 FGs) and led all scorers with 9 points.
Fourth Quarter (Las Vegas 92, Atlanta 87)
Las Vegas led by 16 with 7:43 on the clock, but the Dream went on a 15-4 run to cut the lead to 5 with under 4 minutes to play. It was a 2-point Aces advantage with 36 ticks on the clock, but Chelsea Gray nailed a pull-up jumper, and Kiah Stokes blocked a Rhyne Howard 3 to help secure the win. Howard scored a game-high 10 points in the final stanza as both teams connected on more than 60% of their shots from the floor. Las Vegas committed 5 turnovers, however, which the Dream turned into 9 points. Atlanta had just 1 miscue in the period.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,176 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered. In 2022, three officers were federally charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and civil rights violations. One of the officers later pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the case.
Las Vegas went 20-for-25 from the free throw line, while Atlanta made 9-of-10
GAME NOTES
The Aces are now 5-0 to start a season for the first time in franchise history.
Las Vegas topped the 90-point mark for the 5th-straight game to open the season, extending their own WNBA record in the process. It is also the 6th-straight game overall that the team has scored 90+ points, which is one off the WNBA record of 7 held by the 2010 Phoenix Mercury.
Wilson scored in double figures for the 29th consecutive regular season game (21 points), which is the third-longest active streak in the WNBA, and the 6th-longest streak in Aces’ franchise history.
A’ja Wilson picked up 1 steal on the night, and now has at least 1 steal in 25-straight games which is the longest active streak in the league. The Aces franchise record is 28-straight games held by Sophia Young-Malcolm.
A’ja Wilson blocked 3 shots on the night and extended her streak of at least 1 blocked shot to 8 games, which is the longest active streak in the W.
Wilson is 54 points shy of 3,000 career points.
Candace Parker moved into 7th place on the WNBA’s career assists list, and into 8th place on the career scoring list.
Associated Press Player of the Week Jackie Young scored 20 or more points for the 4th time in 5 games this year (20 points), and netted the 1,500th point of her career.
Riquna Williams did not dress for the Aces (lower back).
NEXT OPPONENT
The Aces continue their 4-game road trip making their way to Indiana, Sunday, for a 1 pm PT tip against the Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Las Vegas has won 8-straight games against the Fever and 4-straight on the road. Indiana is 1-3 on the year having beaten Atlanta, and lost twice to Connecticut and once to New York.