Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) takes the ball up court after making a steal during Game Two of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs finals against the Connecticut Sun at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.
Published Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022 | 7:59 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022 | 9:45 p.m.
After not looking like herself 48 hours ago, Kelsey Plum got some words of "encouragement" from A'ja Wilson prior to Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.
"I told her she needed to get her [stuff] together," Wilson said.
She did just that.
After missing eight of nine shots in Game 1, Plum answered with 20 points and seven assists to help move the Las Vegas Aces within one win of their first WNBA championship with an 85-71 win over the Connecticut Sun to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.
Game 3 is Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN) when the series shifts to Connecticut, and one more win would bring the first major league sports championship to Las Vegas.
Plum was one of three players for the Aces to eclipse 20 points. Wilson had a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds to become the first player in postseason history to record five consecutive double-doubles of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. Chelsea Gray continued her historic run of shot making with 21 points and eight assists.
The latter two have carried the Aces throughout the playoffs. It's a different dynamic when Plum, the first-time all-star this year, is able to attack the basket and finish at the rim with her left hand.
All it took, apparently, was a pep talk from the two-time MVP.
"Actually, I welcomed it very much," Plum said. "We all want the same thing. This organization believes in me, coaches believe in me, and I believe in myself."
The Aces had a light practice Monday in which most players were done well before the two-hour mark ended. At the far end of the court closest to the Aces' tunnel was Plum getting up shots. She made close to 30 in a row at one point.
Plum shot 1 of 9 on Sunday in the Aces' 67-64 win. She made only one of her six 3-point attempts, but went 6 of 7 from two.
"You know, shooters shoot. Just stay aggressive," Plum said. "Sometimes shots fall, sometimes they don't, and I feel like it's been a growth opportunity and how I can impact the game in other ways besides shooting the ball."
Coach Becky Hammon was complimentary of Plum's defense and making the right hustle plays in Game 1. That allowed her to stay engaged despite her slump.
But the Aces finished with the top record in the WNBA for a reason. Having the two-time MVP and the best point guard in the league is a start. Plum making shots at high efficiency like Tuesday night adds more space and another scorer the Sun have to account for.
Despite shooting 5 of 24 from 3-point range in Game 2, the Aces shot 51.6% from the field and turned it over only 7 times.
A huge part of that was Wilson once again dominating in the paint for the fifth straight game. Since her 3-of-10 effort in Game 1 against Seattle in the semifinals, which Wilson said best that she was livid after, she's shot 65% from the floor while averaging 28 points and almost 12 rebounds in the last five games.
"I can't remember the last time I saw a clean basket," Wilson said. "So, I really want to capitalize on those moments, not just for myself, but for my teammates, as well. I always trust my teammates to put me in the best situation to score the basketball, so I take what they give me and I live with it."
The Sun's lone lead came six seconds into the game on a layup from Alyssa Thomas. Both teams shot well over 50% in the first six minutes of the game and a 14-14 tie with 3:46 left in the opening frame. The Aces ended the quarter on a 9-1 run.
In the third quarter, the Sun cut the Aces' lead to 49-46 thanks to three straight baskets. Following an Aces timeout with 7:16 left in the third, Las Vegas closed the quarter on a 19-8 run.
The Aces' defense held the Sun to 42% shooting and 3 of 14 from behind the 3-point line.
"It starts on the defensive end, and our defense sucks. And then it didn't suck," Hammon said. "That's them. They know what they're supposed to do, and it's my job to remind them what they're supposed to be doing. At the end of the day, they had to go out there and do it, and they did."
Wilson said before the playoffs that she's never been on a team that hasn't won anything that other teams want to beat so bad. It's not a LeBron James-Miami Heat situation. The Aces aren't the villains.
But they are one win away from the start of a potential dynasty, the beginning of a new era of dominance in the WNBA. Wilson thinks all the time of what it would be like to bring the first major league title to Las Vegas.
The Aces are one win from making that a reality.
"It's playing for each other," Gray said. "One more pass, one more play, and that's what we have been doing all playoffs. So we have to be able to do that for Game 3."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
