Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) calls out after being fouled during an WNBA playoff game at the Michelob Ultra Arena against the Phoenix Mercury at Mandalay Bay Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022.
Published Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 | 9:09 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 | 10:48 p.m.
The Phoenix Mercury, in the words of Chelsea Gray, "got a little upset." Once that happened, the Las Vegas Aces guard took over.
Gray scored nine of her 17 points in the fourth quarter following a flagrant foul called on Mercury guard Megan Gustafson, and the Aces survived a rough offensive night to win 79-63 against Phoenix in Game 1 of their first-round series at Michelob Ultra Arena on Wednesday.
Game 2 is here Saturday, where the Aces will look to complete the sweep of the best-of-3 series on their home floor.
"It was important," Gray said. "Away teams, they always want to come in and try to steal that Game 1. We felt that energy. They were talking about it the entire time. It was important for us to get that win and start off on a good note."
The top-seeded Aces have found different ways to win all season. On a roster with four All-Stars — one of them, Dearica Hamby, out due to a knee injury — it usually depends on who has the hot hand to take Las Vegas to victory down the stretch.
This night belonged to the veteran point guard Gray, who had a personal 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter after Gustafson was called for a Flagrant 1 foul on Gray underneath the Las Vegas basket. The Aces clung to a 55-51 lead at the time of the foul with 6:54 remaining.
Gray made both free throws out of the timeout, then hit a 3-pointer seven seconds later to push the lead to 60-51.
"You watch Chelsea, you know she likes those moments," Aces coach Becky Hammon said. "She wants the ball in her hands in big moments. There was a lot of emotion, but she's not somebody you want to make mad. She's kind of been mad for about a month and a half, I think."
Gustafson said she was trying to come over from the weak side with help and force a jump ball. Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard vehemently disagreed with the call.
"The seven points she scored right after that?" Nygaard responded when asked if the flagrant foul changed the game. "Yeah, maybe. That one sucked."
In desperate need of a spark for three and a half quarters, Gray provided it.
The Aces struggled offensively against the shorthanded Mercury, shooting just 40.6% from the floor. It was a night mired by A'ja Wilson's dry spell, missing nine of her 11 attempts, but the Las Vegas defense responded by holding Phoenix to just 31% shooting.
One has to wonder what happens if the Mercury have a full lineup, or at least near 100%. Along with Phoenix center Brittney Griner currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia for drug possession, legendary guard Diana Taurasi (right quad) was out, and All-Star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (personal reasons) was also inactive.
The punches continued for Phoenix when guard Shey Peddy went down with a noncontact injury in the third quarter and had to be carried to the locker room. There was no update after the game, but the shorthanded Mercury are likely down another important name facing elimination.
Taurasi, Griner and Diggins-Smith are three names that fortify a powerhouse in the WNBA. Without them, it’s a team that the Aces should make easy work of in this first-round series.
Game 1 was far from that.
The Aces fell behind 8-3 in the opening minutes and wound up missing 11 of their first 16 shots. Wilson, in particular, missed five of her first six shots with the only success being a layup midway through the first.
What Wilson lacked in her ice-cold jumper, she made up for defensively. The league leader in blocks per game during the regular season (1.94) did her part by altering shots in the paint. Wilson and center Kiah Stokes had three blocks apiece.
"It's one thing to get a piece of it, but it's another when they're flying at you, and now you've got to throw up some junk," Hammon said.
Kelsey Plum finished with a game-high 22 points, while Jackie Young chipped in with 16. Wilson, despite her ineffectiveness on the offensive end and not making her first jump shot until 7:15 remained in the game, finished with 12 rebounds.
The Aces made all 18 of their free-throw attempts.
Despite the strong finish in the final six minutes, Hammon wasn't pleased with how her guards defended 1-on-1, putting Wilson and Stokes in tough positions to recover inside.
Phoenix excelled at pulling Stokes and Wilson away from the basket in its pick-and-roll sets, allowing for easy second-chance opportunities. The Mercury had 10 offensive rebounds, six alone from center Brianna Turner.
"I thought their guards turned the corner quite a bit," Hammon said. "I will be getting on our guards a little bit more for allowing penetration to get that deep in the paint."
Ultimately, talent won out for the Aces. Their star players took over, while a depleted Mercury team ran out of gas. On a night where the defending champion Chicago Sky lost Game 1 of their first-round series to the New York Liberty and put some doubt in Chicago's mind, the Aces escaped with the first playoff win in the Hammon era.
No matter who's on the floor for the Mercury, the Aces don't want a repeat of last year against Phoenix — winning Game 1 and then losing the next two by more than 25 points each, ultimately losing in five games in the league's semifinals.
If Gray gets angry again, there might not be a Game 3.
"Don't foul Chelsea Gray like that," Plum said. "I wouldn't."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
