Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) tries to steal the ball from Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud (9) during the second half of a WNBA game at the Michelob Ultra Arena Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. (/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Published Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 | 6:10 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 | 7:33 p.m.
The Aces are worn down right now.
Forget playing their third road game in five days. Coach Becky Hammon was quick to point out the added five games in nine days that the Aces played before this East Coast swing.
Maintaining that high level of success, on top of playing more games this season than that's ever been played in league history this season with 40, there are going to come moments for the Aces to have moments like this, a 78-62 loss to the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC on Saturday.
The Aces shot a season-low 30.8% from the floor and just 6 of 29 from 3-point range.
Kelsey Plum led them with 21 points and A'ja Wilson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Aces (30-5), who lost their first game on this road trip.
"You've got to give credit to them. They packed the paint defensively," Plum said. "They play a physical game."
The Aces trailed by four points heading into the fourth quarter despite the rough shooting outing. But they couldn't complete a rally like they did Thursday in Chicago, trailing by as many as 16 before winning 94-87.
Part of that was turnovers. The Aces turned the ball over 19 times, their second most of the season. Four of their five losses this season have come by turning the ball over at least 15 times.
Washington, which scored 22 points off those turnovers, outscored the Aces 51-32 in the second half; the Aces shot 28% in the final 20 minutes and 3 of 13 from behind the 3-point line.
"It's never good when you have more assists to the other team," Hammon said.
It was a much different tune than the last time the Aces faced the Mystics, where Wilson hit the 40-point mark for the first time in her career on Aug. 11.
The Mystics were fueled by the returns of former league MVP Elena Delle Donne with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Ariel Atkins had 16 points. Neither played in the 113-89 win at Michelob Ultra Arena.
The schedule hasn't been kind to the Aces as far as travel and logistics goes, but it's also taken a hit to their numbers. Despite winning six of their last nine, and continue to win games without Candace Parker (foot surgery), the Aces have shot 43% from the field.
Three times they've shot below 40%, and three times they've shot 50% or better.
"We continue to struggle from the floor," Hammon said. "It's not like we've all of a sudden forgot how to shoot. I think it's a matter of rest."
Rest won't be coming for a while. The Aces conclude their four-game regular season series with the New York Liberty, their biggest obstacle to repeating as WNBA champions this season, at Barclays Center on Monday.
The Aces lead the Liberty by 2.5 games for the top seed in the league standings, which guarantees home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. A New York victory would give the Liberty the regular season tiebreaker over the Aces.
The good news for the Aces is they'll be home for three of their final four games to close the year, including a rematch against the Mystics on Thursday. The Mystics will be the only playoff-caliber team the Aces face in that time.
Hammon said the Aces haven't found time to practice throughout this hectic schedule. They'll get on a plane to New York, attempt to recover after a rough shooting performance, and go at it again against the Liberty.
"We didn't do what we needed to do to win this game," Plum said. "This is not the end of our season. It's always national news when we lose a game, and that's what comes with it, but let's take a deep breath."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
