LAS VEGAS (July 2, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces (11-6) extended their winning streak to 5 games with an 88-69 defeat of the Indiana Fever (8-13) at home Tuesday night in T-Mobile Arena. Kelsey Plum scored a game-high 34 points to lead the Aces in scoring, while A’ja Wilson added 28 points and 9 rebounds, Jackie Young had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists and Kiah Stokes grabbed a team-best 12 boards.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 23 points, and Caitlin Clark had 13 points and 11 assists.
Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery
First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 26, Indiana 24)
The Aces went up 9-3 to open the game, but 6 consecutive from the Fever evened the score at 9. The Fever held a 13-11 edge midway through the quarter, but after a Plum 3-pointer at 4:06 the Fever never again led in the game. Plum led the Aces with 9 points and Mitchell matched that for the Fever. Both teams hit on 42.9% of their shots from the field, the Aces were 6 of 14 and the Fever 9 of 21. The Aces swished in 12 of 13 from the line while the Fever went 5 of 5 from the charity stripe.
Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 46, Indiana 37)
The Fever were still within 2 points at 6:31, but the Aces slowly increased their lead to 10 points, 44-34, with 1:43 to play before halftime and headed to the locker room up 9. Wilson paced all scorers in the frame with 10 points, while Aliyah Boston’s 4 led Indiana. The Aces hit 9 of 19 from the field and 2 of 5 from 3-point, while Indiana made 6 of 18 of their field goal attempts and 1 of 7 from distance.
Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 65, Indiana 59)
The Aces expanded their lead to 11 early in the third quarter, but the Fever scored the game’s next 6 to slice it to 49-44. The gap remained in the single digits through the remainder of the period. The Fever outrebounded the Aces 16-7. Indiana committed 4 turnovers which the Aces flipped into 8 points while the Fever didn’t turn either of Las Vegas”s miscues into points. Plum and Young scored 8 and 7 points, respectively. The Fever were led by 8 from Caitlin Clark.
Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 88, Indiana 69)
A 12-0 run over the first 4 minutes of the final frame, 10 points of which came from Plum, put to rest any upset hopes the Fever had. The Aces outscored the Fever 23-10 in the quarter by netting 47.4% from the field, while holding Indiana to 26.7% of their field goal attempts. Plum finished the quarter with 12 points and Mitchell had 6 for the Fever.
KEY STATS
It has been 1,572 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. A second officer went to trial on October 30, 2023, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. Charges were refiled, and the new trial is scheduled for October 14, 2024.
The ACLU is currently tracking 527 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, up from 515 at the start of the 2024 WNBA season.
The Aces went 15 for 17 from the free throw line, while Indiana made 7 0f 13.
Las Vegas made 9 of 25 (.360) 3-pointers while the Fever made 6 of 26 (.231). The Aces also connected on 45.1 percent of their field goals (32 for 71) while Indiana made 36.4 percent of theirs (28 for 77)
Las Vegas turned 16 Fever miscues into 19 points, while Indiana flipped 10 Aces turnovers into 6 points.
The Fever outrebounded the Aces 44-38, including 13-7 on the offensive end, and outscored the Aces 21-12 on second-chance points.
GAME NOTES
Wilson grabbed 9 rebounds and now has 1,823 for her career and is within 3 boards of moving into 33rd place on the WNBA’s career rebound list (Wendy Palmer, 1,825). Natalie Williams (32nd, 1832), Plenette Pierson (31st, 18,34) and Cheryl Ford (30th, 1,907) are next up on the list.
Wilson had 5 blocked shots and now has 385 for her career—tied with Tamika Catchings for the 14th most in WNBA history. Tina Charles is 13th with 395.
Gray handed out 4 assists, and now has 1,520 for her career—the 9th most in WNBA history. Cappie Pondexter is 8th on the list with 1,578.
Plum entered the game with 2,968 career points and scored her 3,000th on an 8′ driving floater with 6:07 to play in the game. She now has 3,002 career points.
Plum’s 34 points marked the 1st time she’s scored at least 30 points this season and the 6th time in her career.
Young’s 15-point, 10-assist double-double is her third point/assist double-double this season, and third of her career.
The Aces welcomed 20,366 fans to T-Mobile Arena, which is the fifth-most attended game in WNBA regular season history and the most since 1999. Eight of the franchise’s top 10 attendance marks since moving to Las Vegas have come in 2024.
The Aces were without the services of Tiffany Hayes who was not with the team (personal).
NEXT UP
Las Vegas remains at home for a Thursday, July 4, rematch against the Washington Mystics (5-15) on June 29. The game tips at 7 pm PT, and will be telecast nationally on Amazon Prime and locally on the Silver Stats Sports & Entertainment Network.