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The Las Vegas Aces survived a fourth-quarter push from the Phoenix Mercury to win Game 3, 90-88, and take a 3-0 series lead in the 2025 WNBA Finals.
No. 2-seed Las Vegas was up by double figures in the final frame, but No. 4-seed Phoenix rallied back to even the game with a minute left to play.
Then, the WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson hit a shot that will be part of her Hall of Fame highlight reel.
With five seconds left, Chelsea Gray inbounded the ball for the Aces. Wilson received the ball at the elbow and was immediately doubled by DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas. But it didn’t matter. She drove left, spun around and hit the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. As she jogged back on defense, she hung out her tongue in celebration like Michael Jordan.
While the final basket by Wilson was her most significant one, it capped off an incredible game. She ended the night with a new playoff-high 34 points. Wilson also had 14 rebounds and three blocks in Game 3.
Other Aces players also stepped up to secure the result. Jackie Young had 21 points in the win and Jewell Loyd had 16 off the bench. The guards stepping up was a key factor in this contest, and they did just that.
In the loss, Bonner had a monster game for the Mercury. She scored 25 points off the bench, which was a team-high. Satou Sabally, who had to exit the game with a head injury with just over four minutes remaining in the game, was right behind her with 24 points.
The Aces, now owning a commanding 3-0 lead, will look to sweep the Mercury on Friday in Phoenix.
Everything that led up to Wilson’s game-winner
Early on in this matchup, things were relatively even. The Mercury were up 8-6, getting baskets from Sabally and Thomas. Then the Aces turned on the heat. Wilson made a rare 3-pointer, which was part of not one, not two, not three, but five makes from deep from Las Vegas.
Las Vegas went ahead 21-8, but Phoenix fought back. The Sabally-Bonner tandem kept scoring inside and out to make it a one possession game entering the second quarter. The rest of the first half, the Aces stayed in control. Dana Evans got going for Las Vegas, and Young scored nine during the period, giving the Aces a 55-43 advantage at the break.
In the third quarter, the Aces kicked off the scoring with a pair of free throws by Young. Sabally scored on the other end for the Mercury as both teams exchanged baskets early on. Midway through the third, the Mercury’s offense stalled. Phoenix only scored eight points in the last 6:39 of the quarter. The Aces took advantage of the Mercury’s offensive woes, and they ended the third ahead 76-59.
With their season essentially on the line, the Mercury didn’t go away quietly. Rookie Monique Akoa Makani hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the fourth for Phoenix. Then Bonner went on her own 4-0 run, and suddenly the deficit was reduced to 10. Wilson put Las Vegas back on the board with a pull-up jumper, but the Mercury countered with a Sabally 3-pointer.
With the game entering the final four minutes, the Mercury were still down by double figures and needed a push to make it a game. With Sabally now sidelined, this is where Kahleah Copper showed up. She only had six points entering the fourth as the Aces were focused on shutting her down. The great ones, though, find a way to overcome.
In just more than a minute of game time, Copper dazzled, scoring 11 points. She did it in every way possible, featuring and-one plays, free throws inside baskets and 3-pointers. Her last one a 3-pointer, with Loyd in her face made it a one-point game.
Young made a pair from the charity stripe to keep the Aces in front, but Bonner then hit one from deep to even the game at 86. Gray scored on a driving layup on the next play, and then, after a Mercury miss, Bonner once again grabbed another rebound and evened the score again.
After that, though, it was A’ja’s time, and the door was shut.
This was it. Can the Mercury win Game 4 at home? Absolutely. But this was the series. Wilson ended it with her shot, and down 0-3, Phoenix can’t win four-straight and become champions.
However, they don’t have to think about it like that. All they need to focus on is winning Game 4. They’ve been close to victory in two of these three games, and with better late-game execution at home, they can flip this script.
You can’t fake desperate, and the Mercury will be giving whatever they have left trying to keep their season alive. We’ll see if they can get that done on Friday or if it’s champagne time for the Aces.
