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PHOENIX — The Las Vegas Aces had never won Game 3 of the WNBA Finals under head coach Becky Hammon entering Wednesday’s matchup.
The No. 2 seed Aces changed that with a 90-88 victory over the No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury at Mortgage Matchup Center to take a 3-0 in the best-of-seven championship series. A’ja Wilson hit the go-ahead jumper with 0.9 seconds remaining, a shot Wilson called one of the best of her career.
“Under Becky Hammon, we’ve never won a Game 3, so this was a must win for us just for that sake,” said Wilson, who finished with 34 points and 14 rebounds. “I’m happy we finally won a Game 3… Look at us.”
Wilson tops our list of winners from Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. The Mercury, on the brink of elimination, round out our list of losers.
Winners
A’ja Wilson’s game-winning shot for the Aces
If the game and championship are on the line, there is no one else the Aces trust more than four-time MVP A’ja Wilson. With less than a second remaining, Wilson launched a jumper with ice in her veins. The coldest part wasn’t even seeing her get the ball up. It was the A’ja Wilson bounce the ball took after it left her hands, hit the rim and rolled in. What’s even more impressive? Aces coach Becky Hammon did not call a play for Wilson. She drew up who was getting the ball to her superstar and told everyone else to “get out the way.”
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Jewell Loyd’s first quarter 3-point shooting
Loyd was on fire in the first quarter. As soon as she put one shot up, the rim seemed massive. Loyd drained shot after shot around the perimeter until she had hit the most 3-pointers in the first quarter (four) in WNBA Finals history. The record for the most 3-pointers in a single quarter of a WNBA game is five. Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Sami Whitcomb, Arike Ogunbowale and Rhyne Howard are among the players who’ve accomplished the feat.
Aces birthday girl, Chelsea Gray
Happy birthday, Chelsea Gray. Birthdays have been good to the Aces during their WNBA Finals run. The Aces secured a Game 3 victory on Gray’s 33rd birthday on Wednesday, days after the Aces delivered a Game 2 win for Jewell Loyd’s 32nd birthday on Sunday. “Does anybody have a birthday on Friday?” Aces head coach Becky Hammon joked, alluding to Friday’s Game 4 in Phoenix, where the Aces have an opportunity to close out the best-of-seven championship series and hoist their third title in four years. Gray finished with 11 points, five assists, three steals, three blocks and two rebounds. “Maybe she’ll have one drink tonight to celebrate,” Hammon said.
Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner off the bench
The Mercury brought DeWanna Bonner to Phoenix for her veteran leadership and playoff experience. The two-time WNBA champion has struggled throughout the postseason, but delivered a breakout playoff performance on Wednesday and fueled the Mercury’s comeback. Bonner had a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in the Mercury’s Game 3 loss, all while battling an illness. “I just knew Game 3, I needed to be more aggressive. I felt like the first two games in Vegas, I was a little hesitant, so I already had the mindset that I was going to come and attack the paint today regardless,” she said. The Mercury will need an aggressive Bonner moving forward if they want to extend this championship series.
Losers
Mercury forward Satou Sabally’s injury
The Mercury could be without Satou Sabally in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. Sabally left Game 3 with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter after hitting her head on Aces forward Kierstan Bell’s knee while trying to grab a rebound. Aces guard Jackie Young was called for a loose-ball foul. Sabally, who had 24 points, did not return to the game and coach Nate Tibbetts did not have an injury update postgame.
Phoenix’s free throw issues
In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas missed two free throws with 24.6 seconds remaining. One made free throw would’ve tied up the game, while two made free throws would’ve given Phoenix the lead late in the fourth quarter. The Mercury’s troubling trend continued in Game 3 on Wednesday as Phoenix shot 74.2% (23-of-31) from the free throw line. That came back to bite the Mercury, again. Tibbetts said his team did a “good job of getting to the line,” but needs to do a better job converting. The Aces’ in comparison shot 92% (23-of-25) from the free throw line.
Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb’s shooting
For the second consecutive game in the WNBA Finals, Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb was held scoreless. Whitcomb has been a pivotal to the Mercury’s bench all season long, but she has come up empty handed in Game 2 and Game 3. She went 0-of-3 in 14 minutes in Sunday’s Game 2 and shot 0-of-5, including 0-of-4 from the 3-point line in 25 minutes on Friday. Whitcomb temporarily left Game 1 with a knee injury and later said she was “fine,” but she hasn’t looked like herself in the Mercury’s previous two games. Whitcomb’s averaging two points in the WNBA Finals, down from her regular-season season average of 9.1 points.
WNBA officiating
“Refs, you suck” chants happened in Games 1 and 2, and on Wednesday, as the fouls for both teams stacked up, the crowd became increasingly frustrated with the officiating. The chants were started quietly at first, but soon they engulfed Mortgage Matchup Center in a synchronized fashion. Not counting the team fouls during Game 3, there were a combined 45 personal fouls between the teams and Aces guard Dana Evans fouled out.
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