Aces fall to Sky in final game before Olympic break

After coming back to tie the game from as many as 21 points down, the Las Vegas Aces couldn't finish the job, falling to the Chicago Sky, 93-85 tonight at Michelob Ultra Arena. The loss snaps a four-game Aces win streak. 

It's the Aces' final game before the WNBA breaks for a month for the Olympics. 

"At no point in that game did we deserve to win," Aces coach Becky Hammon said. "I called a timeout 1:10 into the game, because you could just feel they weren't in the gym. Well, they weren't in the same gym I was in." 

Chicago dominated from the tip as it started out the game with a 12-1 run, keeping the Aces down for the majority of the game. An eventual 15-0 run going into halftime had the Aces really start to chip into the lead. In the early fourth quarter, Las Vegas tied the game off a Megan Gustafson 3-pointer. 

The Aces had a slim lead halfway through the fourth quarter, but a 6-0 run by the Sky put away the game. Las Vegas struggled to stop Chennedy Carter, who had a career-high 34 points. Angle Reese also recorded her 16^th double-double in 17 games with 13 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Aces also turned over the ball 13 times, eight of which came in the first quarter. Tiffany Hayes said the major reason for all the turnovers were the Aces' attempts at "hero plays." 

"We didn't do the simple things right," Hayes said. "You can't try to do those hero plays as they pile onto each other. That's where all the turnovers come. We just needed to do the simple things. Stay on defense, get defensive stops and then let the offense come to us." 

Las Vegas' struggles came from 3-point range as it shot 27% (5-of-18) from outside the arc. Kelsey Plum, despite finishing with eight points, was 0-of-7 from deep. 

A'ja Wilson put up another impressive stat line, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Aces. Wilson also moved into third place in franchise career steals with 247. She had three against the Sky. Hayes had a season-high 19 points off the bench. Jackie Young recorded 17 points. 

The Aces also saw Kate Martin leave the game in the first quarter after suffering a lower right leg injury. She did not return. Hammon did not have an update on Martin's status but said she was a "tough cookie." 

The rest of the team surrounded Martin when she went down and was visually in pain. Wilson said it was cause she needed to take care of her rookie, wanting to make sure that she was ok and shielding her from potential cameras. 

"We're gonna take care of her no matter what because she's one of us," Wilson said. "She's our sister. It's something that we're gonna always depend on and count on but at the same time, cameras are always getting in your business and we don't want or need that." 

Las Vegas falls to 16-8 on the year. It does not play again until Aug. 17 when it hosts the New York Liberty. 

Five Aces players will be competing in Paris for the Olympics: Hayes (Azerbaijan 3-on-3), Gustafson (Spain 5-on-5),  Chelsea Gray (USA 5-on-5), Wilson (USA 5-on-5), Plum (USA 5-on-5) and Young (USA 5-on-5).

"Even if we have won this game, we still feel there's a lot of things that we can get better at, defensively especially," Hammon said. "Unfortunately, it's going to be a long break for us. It's not the way you want to start out."