LAS VEGAS (August 23, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces sliced a 17-point, second-half Minnesota lead down to as few as 4 in the fourth quarter Friday evening, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump as the Lynx picked up the 87-74 win. The loss drops the Aces to 17-11 on the season, a full game back of Seattle in the race for 4th place in the WNBA standings, while Minnesota remains within a half game of Connecticut in the chase for 2nd.
| W | L | GB | |
| New York * | 25 | 4 | — |
| Connecticut | 21 | 7 | 3.5 |
| Minnesota | 21 | 8 | 4.0 |
| Seattle | 18 | 10 | 6.5 |
| Las Vegas | 17 | 11 | 7.5 |
| * Clinched Playoff Berth | |||
Napheesa Collier recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 27 points and a career-high 18 boards, outrebounding the Aces as a team 18-17. A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 24 points. She was joined in double figures by Tiffany Hayes (12), Jackie Young (12) and Kelsey Plum (11).
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 18, Minnesota 18)
Tied at 8 with 7:01 to go in the frame, the Aces scored 5 straight to go up 13-8. Las Vegas held Minnesota scoreless for more than 2 minutes midway through the quarter, but Las Vegas went just 1 for 3 from the field with a turnover during that stretch, and were unable to extend their advantage. Minnesota scored the next 10 points as the Aces’ cold streak continued. An old-fashioned 3-point play from Chelsea Gray with 35.4 seconds on the clock ended Las Vegas’ shooting slump, which lasted for more than 4 minutes. Collier led all scorers with 9 in the period, while 6 different players dented the scoring column for the Aces, led by Wilson’s 4. The Lynx owned the glass, 10-5.
Second Quarter Highlights (Minnesota 40, Las Vegas 39)
The Lynx extended their lead to 7, 31-24, with 5:34 to go until intermission, but the Aces countered with an 11-0 run to go back up 4, 35-31. Minnesota scored 9 of the final 13 points in the period to lead at the break. Plum led the Aces with 6 points, while Collier added 6 to give her a double-double in the 1st half. Minnesota again led the battle of the boards, this time by an 8-2 margin
Third Quarter Highlights (Minnesota 65, Las Vegas 54)
Minnesota scored the first 6 points of the 3rd as the Aces committed turnovers on their first 2 trips down the floor. A Gray jumper with 1:20 gone in the period ended the run, but Las Vegas went scoreless for another 3-plus minutes as the Lynx extended their lead to 9, 50-41. Young’s free throws with 5:31 on the clock got the Aces on the board again, but Minnesota scored 7 straight and 12 of the next 14 to push the advantage into double digits. Wilson scored the Aces final 11 points of the quarter as Las Vegas sliced the lead to 11. Wilson’s 11 points led all scorers in the quarter, while Collier’s 7 paced the Lynx. The Aces were held to 6 of 17 shooting in the period as Wilson went 5 for 8 from the field, and the rest of the team shot 1 for 9.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Minnesota 87, Las Vegas 74)
Minnesota’s Diamond Miller scored the first bucket for either team in the 4th, but the Aces scored the next 9 to cut the advantage to 4, 67-63. That was as close as Las Vegas would get, however, as the Lynx connected on 8 of 13 shots in the period to hold off the Aces’ rally.
KEY STATS
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The ACLU is currently tracking 527 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, up from 515 at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.
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The Lynx connected on 31 of 61 field goal attempts (.508), including 10 of 26 (.385) from 3-point range, while the Aces hit on 26 of 57 (.456) from the floor and 7 of 19 (.368) from distance.
Minnesota outrebounded Las Vegas 37-17, including 7-1 on the offensive glass, leading to a 9-3 advantage in second chance points.
The Lynx outscored the Aces 8-0 on the fast break.
Las Vegas outscored Minnesota 34-26 in the paint.
The Aces flipped 21 Lynx turnovers into 13 points, but gave up 18 points on their own 20 miscues.
GAME NOTES
Wilson extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 41 games—the longest active streak in the league, and the 20th longest in WNBA history.
Wilson’s 7 rebounds give her 1,963 for her career, which are the 30th most in WNBA history. Next up on the list is Tammy Sutton-Brown (29th, 2,010).
Gray handed out 3 assists and now has 1,574 for her career—the 9th most in WNBA history. Cappie Pondexter is 8th on the list with 1,578.
Wilson scored 24 points and now has 4,511 for her career (35th in league history), while Hayes scored 12 to give her 4,497 (36th), Skylar Diggins-Smith and Penny Taylor are tied for 33rd on the list with 4,606 points
Collier grabbed a carer-high 18 rebounds.
Las Vegas’ 17 rebounds are the fewest in a game by any team in the league this year. Only 11 teams have ever had fewer rebounds in a single game in WNBA history.
Wilson was held without a block or a steal for the first time since September 2, 2023, against Seattle.
NEXT UP
The Aces remain on the road for a 9 am PT meeting with the Sky on Sunday. The game is being broadcast nationally on CBS.