A short-handed Indiana Fever squad gave all they could to the Las Vegas Aces, but the back-to-back champions of 2022 and 2023 flexed their championship pedigree to punch their ticket back to the Finals.
A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young became the first duo to score 30 or more points in the same postseason game.
Young was the first player to ever record 30 points, 10 assists and no turnovers in a playoff game.
There were three key plays that gave Las Vegas the decisive overtime win.
Loyd Created Backbreaking Plays on the Boards
Jewell Loyd had a team-high four offensive rebounds, three of them coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Loyd starts on the strong side of the floor before relocating to the open space below the rim. She shows great anticipation to get the rebound, feel the defender on her back and put up the shot in one motion to draw a shooting foul.
She made both free throws to make it a two-possession game.
Bail-out Shot
Las Vegas caught fire in overtime, hitting three consecutive triples to take the lead for good.
Chelsea Gray came with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired.
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Las Vegas’ initial pick-and-roll resulted in no advantage. Movement shooters tend to shoot better moving to their weak hand. Gray comes towards the ball, takes two dribbles to get her feet under her and cans a heavily contested three-pointer.
Not only does this extend Las Vegas’ lead to five, but the shot is also a dagger to Indiana’s heart. They played terrific defense for 23.5 seconds before Gray answered the 911 call. While it was worth three points to Indiana, it may feel like six.
Executing Baseline Out-of-bounds Play
Las Vegas scored a bucket to go up six with 70 seconds to play, which finally started to ice the Fever.
Indiana decides not to put a defender on the inbounder, giving them an extra number in the playing field.
It’s Loyd’s rip screen for Wilson that keys the play for Las Vegas. Natasha Howard can’t get over the screen cleanly, which forces the free man, Lexie Hull, to step up towards Wilson.
Hull was responsible for Gray below the rim, so she didn’t need to fully commit to switching onto Wilson on the initial catch.
Wilson and Gray exchange a give-and-go for an easy layup.
Las Vegas’ stars answered all of Indiana’s punches with crucial plays on both ends to send Indiana home.
It remains the same: the Ace is the best card to play when a chip is on the line.
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