Sam Hodde / AP
Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, left, and guard Chelsea Gray celebrate during the second half of Game 3 of the team’s WNBA playoffs semifinal against the Dallas Wings, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Arlington, Texas.
Published Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 | 8:48 p.m.
Updated Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 | 10:32 p.m.
A’ja Wilson was asked after Game 1 on Sunday if it was time to have the dynasty talk with the Las Vegas Aces.
“Not until you win two,” she said.
Standing on the doorstep of destiny, the Aces are getting that opportunity.
For the third time in four seasons, and the second straight year with a chance to defend their WNBA championship, the Aces are going back to the WNBA Finals following their 64-61 win over the Dallas Wings in Game 3 of the semifinals at College Park Center in Arlington on Friday.
The Aces completed the three-game sweep of the Wings and improved to 5-0 in the postseason. They will have home-court advantage in the finals and await the winner of the Connecticut Sun-New York Liberty semifinals series.
New York leads the best-of-5 series 2-1.
Talking about the potential finals matchup that has been in the cards since February will come in due time should the Liberty get by the Sun.
Much like the dynasty talk, that’s putting the cart before the horse. The Aces put themselves in position to become the first team since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02 to win back-to-back titles.
“We’re happy to put ourselves back in the position to win the ultimate prize,” coach Becky Hammon said.
It wasn’t an easy road to get there.
The Aces’ season has been a simple one of domination. If they shoot well, they win. If the shooting is off and turnovers are an issue, the results are less than ideal.
Friday was the latter for the Aces. They shot 40.7% from the floor and turned it over 19 times. With as much as they want to play out of their defense and be effective out of their transition, turnovers stalled the momentum.
Hammon called it a gut-check effort, and that was the best way to describe it.
The Aces trailed 61-53 with 4:59 remaining. They were beaten up by the bigger Wings frontcourt; Dallas had 11 offensive rebounds after having 19 in Game 2, and had 18 second-chance points.
Everything clicked in the final five minutes. The Aces closed the game on an 11-0 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Jackie Young with three minutes left to cut it to 61-58, and then Wilson’s layup with 2:44 left tied it at 61.
Young hit two free throws with two seconds left for the three-point lead. Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit off the front rim.
“Kudos to our defense down the stretch, just holding it down and giving us a chance to come out of that game and give us an opportunity to win at the end,” Hammon said. “It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but we’re happy to be walking out of here with a win.”
Chelsea Gray led the Aces with 15 points, and Wilson had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, but had a career-high eight turnovers.
The Aces held Dallas to 31.6% shooting and, more importantly, 6 of 28 from 3-point range. Ogunbowale had a game-high 18 points but took 24 shots to get there. Wings forward Satou Sallaby, the WNBA’s Most Improved Player this year, shot 2 of 15 in the close-out game.
It took a game of 125 combined points to have the closest win of the season for the Aces. This was the first time all season the Aces won a one-possession game of three points or fewer. That’s a team that has won 39 games, regular season and playoffs, and counting.
“This is a special group,” Gray said. “We were down, but we were fine. The composure in our huddles and how tight and locked in we were with each and every person, especially on the defensive end. I wouldn’t want to go to war with anyone else.”
The Aces franchise stems from the very beginning, starting in Salt Lake City in 1997 and through San Antonio for 15 years before winding up in Las Vegas. It’s the first time, even when Hammon was a player for the Silver Stars in the 2000s, that the franchise has made consecutive finals appearances.
All-star guard Kelsey Plum has been with the Aces from the beginning. Going No. 1 in 2017, she was part of the final San Antonio team before making the move to Las Vegas. She’s seen the franchise at its lowest, and now at its peak.
Three more wins would complete an incredible climb.
“Don’t take any of these experiences for granted. It’s such a blessing,” Plum said. “We know the job isn’t done. We’re not sure who we’re playing yet, but we know we’ll be prepared and we know we’ll be excited to defend home court.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
