Aces rally in Chicago, set WNBA record with 30th win this season

It was a tale of two halves for the Aces on their way to the WNBA record books.

What changed?

"They decided they wanted to do the gameplan," coach Becky Hammon said. "That was it."

It's not the first time Hammon has been rather, shall we say vocal, to her team at halftime. After a 37-point first half where the Aces shot less than 40%, it called for that time once again.

But the Aces stayed the course and eventually found a rhythm, rallying from as many as 16 points to defeat the Chicago Sky 94-87 at WIntrust Arena on Thursday to become the first team in WNBA history to reach 30 wins.

The 30th victory surpasses the mark set by the 2014 Phoenix Mercury, who won 29 of 34 regular season games en route to winning the WNBA championship. The WNBA increased its schedule from 36 to 40 games this season.

Kelsey Plum scored 23 points on her 29th birthday, and Chelsea Gray (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Jackie Young (24 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Aces (30-4), who won for the sixth time in seven games and won the first two games of a four-game road trip.

A'ja Wilson had 18 points and 10 rebounds in her first game since tying the WNBA record with 53 points on Tuesday in Atlanta.

"It’s pretty cool, but we’re striving for more," said Gray, who recorded at least a double-double for the third time in four games. "We are doing one game at a time, but you never take for granted those wins."

It didn't seem that way early.

The Sky, currently ninth in the league's standings and on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, entered the night 1.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Sparks. They jumped out to a 24-17 lead by way of shooting 60% from the floor, while keeping the Aces to just 37%.

While the Aces had spurts in the second quarter of getting back into the game, the inconsistencies outweighed the positives. They had a better scoring output in the second (20 points), but once again were held to less than 40% (36.8% in the quarter).

That led to Hammon voicing her displeasure as she's done in the locker room times before.

"At halftime, if I have to scream harder than we play, it’s a problem," she said.

Chicago shot 54.1% for the half and took a 50-37 lead into the break.

"It says a lot about our group when people respond," Plum said. "Coach did …"

"Cuss us out," Gray interjected.

The Aces found that response, but it took longer than expected out of halftime. While the Aces scored the first five points of the third quarter, the Sky answered with the next six points — aided by two turnovers from Plum — to take a 56-42 lead at the 7:11 mark.

Hammon called a timeout. She didn't yell like she did minutes prior. She tried to settle down her group. The Aces were playing too fast — quick shots, bad decisions with the ball — and not playing a fast enough transition game.

Suddenly, in a game where the Aces couldn't grasp any momentum, something clicked after that timeout.

The Aces went on a 22-6 run over the next five minutes to take a 64-62 lead, their first since 6-4 in the first quarter. They shot 65% in the third quarter, with Plum scoring 14 points in the frame and connecting on four 3-pointers.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas defense shut down the Sky in the final 20 minutes, outscoring them 57-37 with Plum contributing 19 points after not making a shot in the first half. Gray scored nine points in the fourth quarter.

"We were giving up a ton of boards on the defensive end," Plum said. "We came out of.that huddle saying, 'we can’t keep leaking out. We have to get a rebound and get stops.'"

The Aces had a 20-13 rebounding edge in the second half to end the game with a 34-33 edge.

"I’ve got no 13-point plays or 10-point plays. What we’ve got is a moment-by-moment, buckle-down attitude," Hammon said. "I wanted to get us into something a little more movement-oriented. Not necessarily just pick-and-roll, but coming out getting stops and being able to run. Securing the basketball and running. That’s when we can have that separation factor."

The win secured the Aces, at worst, a top-2 seed in the WNBA playoffs. They remain 3.5 games ahead of the New York Liberty for the top overall seed, and the two will meet for the final time this regular season on Monday in Brooklyn.

Teams like Chicago are continuing to fight for their playoff lives, Hammon said, leaving no easy game the rest of the year — even against a 13-win team with six games to play.

The Aces will make their White House visit on Friday to celebrate their championship from last season. Perhaps that, if not Thursday's rally, will serve as the reminder that there's a lot of basketball left to play.

"You always have to just get back to the basics and decide if you’re going to do it together," Hammon said, "and they came together and decided they were going to do it together."

Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.