Las Vegas Aces win WNBA championship

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022 | 3:25 p.m.

The Las Vegas Aces capped a dominant season with a 78-71 win in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, closing out the series behind brilliant performances from guards Riquna Williams and Chelsea Gray to earn the franchise's first championship.

The Aces are loaded with three former No. 1 overall picks, plus another WNBA legend in Gray, but it was Williams, a reserve guard, who came up clutch in the fourth quarter to carry Las Vegas across the finish line.

Las Vegas had a 67-62 lead with less than three minutes remaining, but Connecticut wiped it out in a single possession. Kelsey Plum was called for a landing zone infraction on a 3-point attempt by DeWanna Bonner, giving the Sun three free throws (Bonner converted all three) and possession. Jonquel Jones then hit a short 2-pointer to tie the game.

The Aces trailed, 69-67, with less two minutes remaining when reserve guard Williams collected a pass from Plum and drained a go-ahead 3-pointer. A Jones putback at the other end gave Connecticut the lead, but Williams buried another 3 to make it 73-71 in favor of Las Vegas.

Connecticut missed its next attempt, and just when Alyssa Thomas looked like she was about to score on a putback, Williams swiped the ball away. Williams then came down and swished a step-back jumper to give the Aces a 75-71 advantage with less than a minute to play.

After a defensive stop, the Aces cleared out for Plum at the top of the key. Plum lulled her defender off balance, then drove and stopped for a short jumper, which she calmly knocked down to give the Aces a comfortable 77-71 lead with 25 seconds on the clock.

The win punctuated a dominant season for Las Vegas. After losing a Game 5 heartbreaker at home to the Phoenix Mercury to end the 2021 season, the Aces brought in Becky Hammon to replace Bill Laimbeer as head coach, and the results were immediate. Running Hammon's more modern system, Las Vegas led the league in pace and offensive rating, and they showed plenty of toughness as well, topping the league in defensive rebounding rate. That added up to a 26-10 record and the top overall seed in the WNBA playoffs.

The Aces dispatched the Mercury, 2-0, in the first round, then held off the Seattle Storm, 3-1, to win an instant-classic semifinal series. That set up the matchup with Connecticut, and Las Vegas took care of business by winning the first two games at home. The Sun routed Las Vegas in Game 3, but Hammon's crew responded on Sunday, matching Connecticut's physicality and making enough clutch plays down the stretch to secure that elusive title.

It was a particularly vindicating title for A'ja Wilson, who was the franchise's first draft pick (No. 1 overall in 2018). With Wilson leading the charge, the Aces have advanced to the conference finals in each of the last four years, including a Finals run in 2020, but until Sunday they had come up short each time. Wilson won two MVP awards during that span, including this season, and she capped off her campaign with 11 points and 13 rebounds in the clincher.

Gray closed out a masterful playoff run with 20 points and six assists in Game 4. Plum went for 15 points.

Closing out Connecticut required the Aces to dig deep and find a level of toughness they had not yet displayed this season.

A quick start helped the cause. Gray and Plum both popped 3-pointers in the opening minutes, and Gray connected on a pull-up along the baseline to cap a 9-0 run and force Connecticut to call an early timeout.

The Aces led 16-12 after one quarter, and the teams played tug of war throughout the second quarter; both teams shot below 36% from the field as Las Vegas carried a slim, 30-28 lead into halftime.

Jonquel Jones drove baseline and hit a reverse layup to give Connecticut its first lead since the opening minutes, 39-37, and Jones struck again on the next possession with a long 3 from the wing to extend the Sun’s advantage to 42-39.

As was the case throughout most of Las Vegas’s playoff run, it was the shotmaking of Gray that kept the Aces afloat when the game ground to a halt and offense was hard to come by.

Midway through the third quarter she drained a pull-up jumper, then sliced through the defense for a left-handed layup that gave Las Vegas a 43-42 lead. At that point, Gray was 7-of-10 from the field, while the rest of her team was 11-of-35 (31.4%).

With a minute left in the half, Gray drove and converted an up-and-under scoop shot, then came back on the defensive end and took a bruising charge from Jones. For her efforts, Gray was named Finals MVP.

The cat-and-mouse affair continued deep into the fourth quarter. Las Vegas was nursing a 62-61 lead with four minutes left with Jackie Young stepped into a 3-pointer and connected to provide some breathing room. Williams took over from there, creating enough offense to give Las Vegas its historic championship.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.