WNBA: A’ja, Aces confirm their championship credentials

It was the perfect Las Vegas Aces alchemy.

With 31 points, eight rebounds and two blocks from A’ja Wilson, 20 points and five rebounds from Jackie Young and a 13-point and 10-assist double-double from Chelsea Gray, the Aces championship-winning trio extended the team’s winning streak to 13 games with a 97-87 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

The win, the Aces’ first over the Lynx in their last six tries, puts Vegas in a three-way tie with the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury for the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs. All three squads remain five games back of the Lynx, the assured No. 1 seed.

Along with the outcome, the terms of Thursday night’s game are encouraging for the Aces. After scoring no more than 78 points in the previous three matchups, Vegas nearly reached the century mark, while Minnesota registered their worst defensive rating of the season. Although the Aces’ defense has improved during their turnaround, their offense has been the driver of their return to dominance. Delivering their fifth-most efficient offensive performance of the season on the league’s best defense substantiates that they are a serious threat to win it all.

Minnesota, still, can take solace in the larger sample, as well as the fact that all the motivation was in Vegas’ favor on Thursday. A slight concern for the Lynx, however, might be the form of Napheesa Collier. Since returning from the ankle injury she suffered in the Lynx’s 53-point win over the Aces, she has shot under 40 percent from the field in two of five games, including her 5-for-13 and 12-point performance on Thursday. For most players, that would not be perceived as a problem. But, Collier’s hyper-efficiency is what takes Minnesota from a very good team to a potentially all-time great one. If any lingering effects from her injury are altering her ability to get to her spots or establish the right balance on her shots, and, in turn, preventing her from reaching peak efficiency, that could cap Minnesota’s playoff ceiling.

With one of Vegas, Atlanta and Phoenix guaranteed to end up in the No. 4 seed, along with the possibility that the likely No. 5-seed New York Liberty rediscover their championship selves, Minnesota is going to face a challenging second-round matchup (and maybe in the first round too, as two of their nine losses have come to the Seattle Storm, the possible No. 8 seed). Collier must be at her very best.