Aces keep rolling with rout of Mercury, push winning streak to 9

LAS VEGAS — A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Dana Evans scored 17 points and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 83-61 on Thursday night to win their ninth straight.

Las Vegas hasn’t lost since a 111-58 home defeat to Minnesota on Aug. 2, which pushed the team to eighth in the WNBA standings at 14-14. Spurred by their nine-game winning streak, the Aces now have the third-best record in the league at 23-14.

Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and NaLyssa Smith scored 12 points apiece for Las Vegas, which has won 11 of its past 12 and seven straight at home.

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“My belief in them has never wavered,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Our locker room, it would’ve been very easy to fall apart in June when things were not going well for anybody — not for individuals, not for the group, not for anybody. And it just speaks to the kind of character that we have and the ability to kind of rise above the circumstances and have a figure-it-out mentality together.

“Some locker rooms they’re really good at the beginning and then fade as the wear and tear of the season and the stress and pressure builds and mounts, and this team seems to be settling in with the pressure.”

Wilson, who had her 18th double-double this season, had her string of 30-point games snapped at three.

Alyssa Thomas had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists for Phoenix (21-14). Satou Sabally scored 15 points.

Sabally scored in the post to make it a nine-point game, but Evans answered with a running floater and Gray followed with a fadeaway that made it 59-46 at the end of the third quarter. The Aces led by double figures the rest of the way.

The Mercury were limited to season lows for points (61) and field goal percentage (31%).

“We become a very dangerous group when we play defense like that,” Hammon said.

“It dawned on me very early that we’re going to have to win defensively,” she added. “And there’s just too many good offensive teams in this league to not defend, so we’ve kind of made it the calling card.”

Kierstan Bell hit a 3-pointer that gave the Aces the lead for good and sparked a 7-0 run that made it 23-17 at the end of the first quarter.

Sabally converted a three-point play that trimmed the Mercury’s deficit to 37-29 with 1:41 left in the second quarter, but Gray made a step-back jumper, Young tipped in her own miss and Gray hit another jumper to give the Aces a 14-point lead at halftime.

Kahleah Copper (rib) left the game after a collision with Wilson in the third quarter and did not return.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Research was used in this report.