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That was the Las Vegas Aces team that won 17-straight games to end the regular season and begin the playoffs. On Sunday afternoon, the No. 2 seed flexed on the No. 4-seed Phoenix Mercury, winning Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Finals, 91-78.
The final score, however, disguises their dominance. After a closely-contested first quarter that presaged a script similar to Game 1, Vegas began to seize control in the second quarter before their nine-point half time lead turned into a 15-point advantage by the end of third. The margin swelled to as many as 22 points before extended garbage time.
It was the Aces’ bigger “Big 3” that propelled their overpowering performance. Jackie Young scored 32 points behind a WNBA Finals-record 21-point third quarter, while A’ja Wilson tallied a 28-point and 14-rebound double-double. Chelsea Gray filled the box score with her own 10-point and 10-assist double-double, plus eight rebounds. The three combined for 70 of Vegas’ 91 points.
The Mercury’s star trio proved unable to compete with that production. Kahleah Copper led Phoenix with 23 points, with Satou Sabally working her way to 22 points and nine rebounds. Alyssa Thomas was too quiet, with her 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals not enough to meet her high standard, nor compete with Vegas’ firepower.
Here’s more on what went right for the Aces and what went wrong for the Mercury:
What went right for the Aces?
When a game can have multiple headliners, you know it was a good one.
But Young, with her record-breaking third quarter, earns the top billing. Held out of Vegas’ Saturday shoot around due to “heavy legs,” Young appeared fully restored on Sunday—and then some. Young proved too quick, too strong and too accurate for any Phoenix defender. She drained pull up 3s, got to her spots to hit money midrangers, unleashed precise footwork in the paint to turn tough finishes into easy 2s and earned trips to the line, where she was a perfect 5-for-5.
Her offensive mastery, by itself, was too much for the Mercury. Yet, Young’s third quarter was preceded by a 20-point first half from Wilson, matching the second-most prolific scoring half in WNBA Finals history. A’ja was in full M’VP mode, making defenders seem inconsequential as she dropped in her own array of smooth middies, in addition to cashing in on transition run outs.
Gray flashed resemblances of her 2022 Finals MVP self, splashing in her own jumpers before shifting to orchestration mode as she dimed up teammates with Point Gawd passes.
A Phoenix defense that effectively flummoxed the New York Liberty in the first round and stymied the Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals was turned into bystanders by the Aces’ “Big 3.” The Aces, in contrast, maintained their defensive integrity. After a first quarter that agitated head coach Becky Hammon, Vegas reestablished themselves on that end, with Young emphasizing that getting stops, and thus turning good defense into easy offense, was essential to her big third quarter.
When the playoffs began, this was the version of the Aces that was expected. But since a blowout win over the Seattle Storm in Game 1 of the first round, the dominant Aces had gone dormant. The swagger was revived on Sunday afternoon, giving them what, at least at the moment, seems like an indomitable 2-0 series lead as the best-of-seven showdown shifts to Phoenix.
What went wrong for the Mercury?
There was no double-digit comeback in this one.
A Phoenix team that has prided itself on a steely, unflappable spirit throughout their playoff run showed little of that identity on Sunday afternoon. After a competitive first quarter, when Copper recalled her 2021 Finals MVP performance with a 4-for-5 start from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3, the Mercury were unable to access the sneering physicality that pushed them past the Liberty and over the Lynx, instead failing to respond to the punch delivered by the Aces.
That lack of intangible oomph might be as concerning as the tangible issues Phoenix experienced. However, the stats reveal plenty of reasons for the lopsided result.
After Copper’s three first quarter 3s, the Mercury only made two more triples, finishing 5-for-28 for 17.9 percent. Sabally, in particular, was off from behind the arc, missing her first seven 3s before converting her final two. Sabally wasn’t just misfiring, but she also was firing at the wrong moments, taking 3s too early into possessions and preventing Phoenix from establishing any offensive rhythm. Her forays towards the basket were much more fruitful, yet too infrequent, indicative of an overall poor offensive process.
The Aces didn’t need to deploy the zone defense that stalled the Mercury in Game 1; Phoenix engaged in enough self sabotage on that end of the floor.
Their absence of coherent offense was, in part, due to their inability to turn defense into offense. Even if they wouldn’t admit, Phoenix likely understands the slowing, not stopping, Wilson is their best outcome. Not only did that not happen on Sunday, but they also were torn up by Young. Forced to take the ball out of the basket, Phoenix couldn’t consistently rev up the transition attack that optimizes the strengths of Thomas, who was also hampered by foul trouble.
Add in the fact that no member of the Mercury supporting cast served as an extra scoring source, with the most likely candidates in Sami Whitcomb going scoreless in her 13 minutes and DeWanna Bonner making a single field goal in her 23 minutes, and Phoenix was left floundering.
They’re now down, but not out.
Phoenix will surely armor themselves with cliches as the series heads to their home court, projecting confidence despite the Sunday blowout that plunged them into a 2-0 series deficit. A team that has been at their best when doubted, the Mercury have shown enough throughout this playoff run to make it more than believable that they can turn this best-of-seven Finals into a long series.
