GAME RECAP—Another Powerful Performance from A’ja Wilson Propels Aces Past Atlanta, 84-70

ATLANTA (July 12, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces (15-7) received 33 points and 18 rebounds from A’ja Wilson en route to an 84-70 victory on the road over the Atlanta Dream (7-15) on Friday night. Also helping power the Aces to their 3rd win in a row were Jackie Young, who tallied 19 points and 6 assists, and Kelsey Plum, with 15 points and 7 assists.

Cheyenne Parker-Tyus came off the bench for a team-high 17 points for Atlanta.

Box Score | Highlights | Photo Gallery

First Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 20, Atlanta 15)

The Aces jumped out to an 8-0 lead. With the Aces still ahead 15-6, the Dream scored the next 6 points of the game before the teams swapped scores to close out the quarter. The Aces hit on 38.9% of their field goal attempts, netted 30% of their 3-point attempts and held the Dream, who missed all 3 of their attempts from distance, to 30% from the field. The Dream outscored the Aces 10-4 in the paint. Young scored 8 to lead all scorers in the period and Atlanta got 4 points from 2 players.

Second Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 44, Atlanta 30)

Atlanta took its first lead of the game with an 8-0 spurt at the start of the 2nd quarter to pull ahead 23-20. However, the Aces tossed in 4 3-pointers, including 3 from Wilson, in a 12-5 run for a 32-28 edge midway through the stanza and never again trailed. The Dream scored their final points of the first half before the Aces outscored the Dream 12-0 to close the half. Wilson, who shot 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 3 from distance, scored 13 points, while Parker-Tyus had 8 for the Dream. The Aces made 4 of 8 of their 3-point attempts and held the Dream to 1 of 6 from afar.

Third Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 57, Atlanta 47)

The Aces went up by 17 on 3 occasions, last at 57-40 with 4:03 to play in the 3rd. However, the Aces missed their final 7 shots of the period as Atlanta drew to 57-47 with a 7-0 quarter-ending run. Maya Caldwell scored 7 points for Atlanta and Wilson topped out for the Aces with 6. The Aces made just 25% of their field goal attempts and Atlanta hit on 35% of theirs. The Dream outscored the Aces 10-4 points in the paint.

Fourth Quarter Highlights (Las Vegas 84, Atlanta 70)

The Dream chipped away at the gap and were within 8 points, 72-64, with 3:02 left in the game. However, that’s as close as they would come. Wilson and Tina Charles scored 8 apiece for their respective teams.

KEY STATS

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The Aces finished shooting an equal 41.4% (29-70 FGs) from the field and from 3-point range (12-29 3pt FGs), while limiting the Dream to 37.7% (29-77 FGs) of their field goal attempts and a frigid 10.5% (2-19 3pt FGs) from distance.

The Aces made 14 of 17 from the line, whereas the Dream went 10 of 15.

The Dream held a commanding 42-16 advantage in points from the paint, and their bench outscored the Aces reserves 29-12.

The Aces flipped the Dream’s 12 turnovers into 16 points and gave up 13 points on their own 10 miscues.

Atlanta outrebounded Las Vegas 47-36, including 12-3 on the offensive end where the Dream outscored the Aces 16-2 on second chance points.

GAME NOTES

Wilson’s 5 blocked shots give her 405 for her career which moves her past Michelle Snow (403) and into 12th place on the WNBA’s career blocked shots list.  Taj McWilliams-Franklin is 11th on the list with 443.

Wilson extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 35 games—the longest active streak in the league.

Wilson’s 18 rebounds give her 1,892 for her career, which are the 31st most in WNBA history. Next up on the list is Cheryl Ford (30th, 1,907).

In shooting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, Wilson tied her career-high for 3-pointers made in a game. She made 3 treys twice before, against Dallas on July 7, 2024, and Atlanta on Aug. 9, 2022.

Wilson recorded her 13th double-double of the season (33 points, 18 rebounds) and the 89th of her career—the 7th most in WNBA history. Tamika Catchings is next on the list with 96.

Wilson recorded her 13th 20-10 game of the season and the 65th of her career, which is the 5th-most in WNBA history. Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker are tied for 3rd with 71 each.

Wilson had a double-double by halftime (19 points, 10 rebounds). It was the third time in her career that she notched a double-double by halftime (last was June 29, 2022).

Wilson’s 18 rebounds are tied as the second-most in WNBA history for a player scoring at least 30 points. Yolanda Griffith grabbed the most (19) when she scored 30 against Houston on Aug. 6, 2000.

Wilson is the first player in WNBA history to have at least 30 points (33), 15 rebounds (18), 5 blocked shots (5) and 3 made 3-pointers (3) in a game.

Wilson has scored 30 or more points in a game 7 times this season and 20 times in her career.

Young scored the 2,500th point of her career on a 3-pointer on a pass from Chelsea Gray with 5:42 remaining in the game. She now has 2,503 career points and is ranked 7th on the franchise scoring list. Adrienne Goodson is 6th with 2,563 points.

Gray handed out 5 assists and now has 1,545 for her career—the 9th most in WNBA history. Cappie Pondexter is 8th on the list with 1,578.

NEXT UP

Las Vegas concludes its 3-game, coast-to-coast road trip Sunday with a 12 pm PT tip in Washington against the Mystics. The game is being broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network and locally on the Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network.