Aces even the series with 78-73 win

A'ja Wilson would not be denied scoring a game-high 33 points.

(Las Vegas, Nevada) - A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart went toe to toe like two heavyweight boxers. But in the end, Wilson would not allow her team to lose Game 2 at home. Wilson finished the game with 33 points on 12-18 FG and a game-high 13 rebounds. Stewart nearly matched her with 32 points (12-23 FG) and seven rebounds. Ultimately, Wilson got more help from her teammates than Stewie did and it resulted in the Aces tying the series at one game apiece with a 78-73 victory.

“It was a physical, hard-fought game. Obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted,” Stewart said. “We had a lot of opportunities to get the game back on our side and take momentum. We knew they were going to come out guns blazing. They had to. They didn’t want to go down 0-2. But we’re going to continue to learn from this game. We’re going home and we’re looking forward to playing in front of our fans.” Stewart said.

The Storm can take some solace in the fact that they did steal one game in Las Vegas and nearly won both games despite poor offensive performances (as a team) in both games.

The series now becomes a Best of 3 with the next two games being played in Seattle.

“I’m super proud of our effort. Only shooting 11 free throws. With the exception of those foul shots, to hold Vegas to under 80 that’s a feat. We have to clean up some things offensively. But overall, a good effort from our group. We’ve got to regroup, look at the film, adjust, and get better.” Coach Quinn said in her opening statement.

Outside of Stewart, only Tina Charles reached double figures. Charles had 17 points and nine rebounds. Loyd finished with just eight points on 2-10 FG. Stephanie Talbot had a solid game with six points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Sue Bird had six points and six assists. Unfortunately, Seattle really needed that third scorer to emerge and it didn’t happen.

When asked by the media about Loyd’s lack of scoring in this game Quinn responded by saying.

“As far as Jewell, it’s just about her rhythm. Her first couple of shots just didn’t go in. She has a tough assignment on the defensive side of the ball. I don’t think they did anything different. I just think (we need) to get Jewell in her comfort spots a little bit. We just need to get her going early because she didn’t have as many touches as last game.” Quinn explained.

The Las Vegas Aces

Outside of Wilson’s monster game, there were just two other players that really stepped up for Las Vegas. Chelsea Gray scored 19 points and continued to hit ridiculous shot after ridiculous shot. Seattle was never able to slow her down. Gray finished with an efficient night making 8-13 FG and 3-5 FG from beyond the arc. Gray had a major impact in all areas with seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

The Aces got their third scorer with Kelsey Plum who came on strong late. Plum finished with 18 points and scored nine of her 18 in the 4th quarter.

“We did what we had to do. This was pretty much a must-win for us! I felt we still came out a little tight but we eventually got to where we needed to be. Two incredible performances by the two best players in the league. But I thought that stretch where we went small and put Chelsea Gray in the post, with her activity, it really changed the momentum in the game. Defensively, it’s just, be active and disruptive. Be physical, aggressive. I thought she really set the tone for us defensively with her activity, her communication. Obviously, Jewell is always a concern for us to be able to lock in and do some things. We still didn’t play great offensively but we did enough to win.” Coach Becky Hammon said in her opening statement after the game.

When asked about A’ja impressive performance Coach Hammon had this to say.

“I’m sure Noelle would beg to differ but we think we have the MVP. And she (A’ja) played that way. Her presence - we came in and we wanted to get her more shots, more looks, more involved. I thought going small just gave her a little more space to operate. They weren’t able to manipulate our offense as easily for them defensively… At the end of the day, Stewie and A’ja kind of cancel each other out. One gets 30 and the other gets 30 and we play on. It’s really the people after that who step in and fill the gaps for the series.” Becky said.

I had the chance to talk with Chelsea Gray after the game and spoke with her about her will and mindset coming into this game because she really made a huge impact on both ends of the court.

“By any means necessary. You can’t get Game 1 back. But in the moment, you can’t get Game 2 either. Now every possession counts. If there ends up being a jump ball, it means they don’t get it in the paint and they have to reset. If I have to give a take foul, they have to reset. It’s about each possession, what’s your smartest move? What’s going to put yourself in the best position possible defensively? A lot of it was me coming from the backside getting steals or getting deflections and allowing us to reset and get to our matchups so they’re not in the paint.” Gray told me.

The home team bounced back winning the rebounding battle 38-34. Most importantly for them, they had a 23 to 11 free throw advantage. Vegas made 18-23 FT compared to Seattle’s 11-11. Both Seattle’s players and Coach Quinn made comments about the free throw discrepancy during the post-game press conference.

“I thought our posts did an excellent job of getting into the paint. We did everything right except for getting to the free throw line and getting the calls.” Quinn added.

“They took 23 free throws to our 11 and we lost by five,” Charles mentioned.

Game Breakdown

Kelsey Plum scored the game’s first points. She didn’t settle for a jumper; she managed to use Wilson to help screen her free into the paint. Tina Charles was able to knock down a mid-range jumper. Seattle then took the lead on a Breanna Stewart three-pointer. Loyd hit a nice short shot over Kiah Stokes. A’ja Wilson then bullied her way deep into the point for two after missing a couple of outside shots. Chelsea Gray then knocked down a three after Loyd had drawn a foul driving to the rim. Gray’s triple tied the game at 11-11.

Jackie Young buried a three at the top of the perimeter to give the Aces a three-point lead. Stewart and Plum exchanged baskets. Then Stephanie Talbot hit a three. That started a 10-0 run by Seattle. Chelsea Gray picked up a Technical Foul after being called for a charge against Sue Bird. Stewart hit the technical free throw. Bird then found Stewart on a fastbreak and Stewie was able to finish at the rim just past A’ja Wilson. The final basket of the first quarter came on a play where Loyd, Magbegor, and Stewart all shaded to the right side of the court. Jewell had the ball and passed it up to Stewart. Both Vegas defenders were focused on Stewart, allowing Ezi to slip to the rim uncontested. Stewie made the easy pass and Ezi finished at the rim.

At the end of the first quarter, the Storm led 23-16.

Wilson was able to draw a foul against Magbegor to begin the 2nd quarter and split the pair of free throws. Stewart responded by cutting to the rim and then scoring again on another possession. Wilson was able to draw a shooting foul against Stewie. Stewart made another jumper but then the Aces quickly went on a 5-0 run with a triple from Gray and an offensive putback by Wilson to cut Seattle’s lead back down to four (29-25).

Young and Wilson were able to draw shooting fouls against Seattle and that allowed them to cut the deficit down to two and then tied the game as Gray was able to hit a mid-range jumper. Tina Charles stopped the 11-2 run by the Aces by hitting a three.

The Storm would score just two more points in the final 3:43 of the 2nd period and had just 13 points total for the quarter. This allowed the Aces to tie the game at halftime with a score of 36-36. Stewart had 16 points to lead Seattle and Charles added 11 points. A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 14 points and Gray had 10 points in the first half.

Seattle shot just marginally better than Las Vegas in the first half. They connected on 43% (15-35 FG) and the Aces made 40% (12-30 FG). The biggest difference in the first half was that the Aces absolutely lived at the free throw line. They had a 12-3 advantage in free throw attempts. They made 9-12 FT for +6 points in that category. The Storm had a slight edge in rebounding 19-17 and assists 8-6.

Stewart and Wilson exchanged baskets to begin the 2nd half picking up right where they left off. Bird was able to drive against Plum and draw the foul. They found Charles for a basket to put the Storm up four but then Las Vegas went on an 8-0 run to put the Aces up four.

Seattle responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Stewart and Talbot. Gray was then able to drive straight to the rim with no help defense by Seattle to tie the game again at 50-50 with 3:32 left in the third period.

The home team finished on a 12-2 run. Las Vegas scored five points in the final 12 seconds to explode to a 60-52 lead.

After the game, I asked Coach Quinn what stood out the most to her during that run.

“Their aggressiveness. The non-calls. That affected our transition game. We were missing shots on goal. I think our transition defense has been very good the first couple of games. We just lost track and they got out in transition and got some wide-open looks.” Coach told me.

Tina also spoke with me about what stood out during Vegas’s late third-quarter run.

“They made shots. Specifically, they scored and I know we took it out of bounds and KP got a steal. Chelsea hit another one. We knew they were going to go on a run at some point and they did. But I still thought, when we came out, at that point, it was (62-52) but we cut it to six. They called a timeout. The momentum was switching but we just missed shots. The looks and play calls that we called I’m very confident in.” Charles said.

Plum was able to drive to the rim and draw a foul to put the Aces up 10. Seattle finally had some good ball movement to go on a quick 4-0 run to cut the lead down to six at 62-56. Seattle had cut the lead to just four and Kelsey Plum hit a dagger of a three to push them back up by seven.

Seattle cut it back down to two on a Sue Bird jumper. But A’ja would not be denied. She hit a jumper and was fouled by Loyd to put the Aces back up by five. Stewart hit a three to cut it back down to two but Vegas remained in control.

Plum responded with back-to-back layups to put the Aces up six with under two minutes remaining in the game. Stewart was able to draw a foul on the other end to cut the deficit back down to four. But Chelsea Gray hit another clutch jumper to make it 75-69 with one minute left. Jewell was able to draw a foul and made both free throws.

Talbot came up with a huge steal and read a play perfectly picking off Gray from her blind side. Talbot raced down the court but instead of trying to get the layup, she slowed down allowing Jackie Young to knock the ball away from her. Fortunately for Seattle, Young wasn’t able to recover the ball before falling out of bounds. After a review, the referees gave the ball back to Seattle. Bird then hit a floater as she banked it in to cut the Aces’ lead down to just two at 75-73 with less than 20 seconds to go.

Seattle was forced to foul immediately as the shot clock was turned off. A’ja went to the foul line and made both free throws this time. The Storm did not get a good offensive look whatsoever and Loyd heaved up an off-balanced three-pointer that didn’t even hit the rim. Jackie Young collected the rebound and Stewie raced to foul her which in turn actually caused Stewart to foul out of the game. At that point, it didn’t matter. Young made one of two free throws and Charles missed a three on the other end as time expired.

Gray and Wilson were fired up after the big win as they had evened the series with their 78-73 victory.

Additional Analysis

Becky’s New Strategy

With Dearica Hamby still out with an injury and Kiah Stokes relatively ineffective on the offensive side of the ball, Coach Becky Hammon made a big change in Game 2. Hammon played Riquna Williams 26 minutes in Game 2 compared to just 17 minutes in Game 1. Williams took all of Stokes’ minutes as Kiah went from playing 31 minutes in Game 1 to just 20 minutes in Game 2.

The move paid off. Looking through the WNBA’s Advanced Stats website that shows the productivity of specific lineups, it tells us that the Aces dominated during their 16 minutes when A’ja Wilson was the only post player on the court for Las Vegas.

When A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and Riquna Williams were on the court together they scored 47 points in 16 minutes. They were a PLUS 16 in plus/minus during those 16 minutes of action. Las Vegas shot nearly 59% overall and almost 56% from three-point range during the time these five were on the court together.

And while Williams was not an effective scorer in this game finishing 0-6 FG and 0-3 FG from beyond the arc (just two points total). She did have eight rebounds. That was the second-highest on her team just behind A’ja. More importantly, Williams being on the court in place of Stokes allowed the Aces to space the floor. It meant Seattle’s defenders had to stay out closer to the perimeter. Which freed up the low post for A’ja Wilson to go to work. It also opened up more space for Plum and Gray to attack Seattle’s defenders with dribble penetration.

Meanwhile, the Aces starting lineup that included Kiah Stokes in place of Riquna Williams played roughly 12 minutes together in Game 2 and were a MINUS 5 in plus/minus.

Interestingly enough, Seattle’s worst lineup was when Ezi was on the court with the rest of the starters in place of Charles. That lineup only played four minutes together in Game 2 but the Storm were outscored by six points (-6 in +/-) when they were out there together.

When asked about the problems the small-ball lineup caused for the Storm, Coach Quinn responded sharply.

“None. We were able to get our post-ups. It’s just about us being a little more aggressive. A few of those were foul calls, period (referring to the jump balls by the Aces). I thought we were able to get into the post and got looks that we needed.” Quinn said.

“I don’t know how many times did we not get good shots with their small-ball lineup? I don’t think that it was super impactful where we couldn’t get the looks that we wanted. We just weren’t getting fouls!” she added.

Who Will Step Up?

I wrote this in my previous article from Game 1.

I also believe the Aces have the better offensive weapons overall. It is easier to envision A’ja Wilson scoring 20 points in the next game than it is to think Stewie and Jewell will both score around 25 again AND Sue Bird will go from scoring two points to 15 points.

Sometimes I hate being right. But this prediction came true. A’ja went from eight points in Game 1 to 33 points in Game 2. Stewie also did improve going from 24 points in Game 1 to 32 points in Game 2. However, Loyd completely disappeared scoring just eight points in Game 2 after putting up a game-high 26 in the first game. And while Sue did increase her scoring, it was only by four points improving from two to six.

Jewell Loyd is an incredible basketball player. One of the most talented shooting guards in the entire WNBA and has been for several years now. If there is one thing to criticize, I think it’s fair to say sometimes she disappears in games. You generally expect Loyd to give you 15-20 PPG every single night. But in actuality, most of the time she does, occasionally you’ll see her go off for 25-30+ points; but you’ll also have games like Wednesday (8 points on 20% FG shooting) where she is held well below her average.

This season alone, Jewell has had a game against Las Vegas where she scored a career-high 38 points and another game against the Aces where she scored one point. ONE.

In previous championship seasons, the Storm always had really strong depth. If Loyd wasn’t scoring maybe Alysha Clark stepped up and scored 12-16 points. Maybe it was Sami Whitcomb coming off the bench to hit four threes and score 12 points. They don’t have that luxury this season.

This year the guard play behind Loyd hasn’t been good. Sue isn’t scoring like she used to. Briann January and Epiphanny Prince have been completely ineffective nearly all season long.

And what’s happened to Ezi? Yes, her minutes are obviously down since Tina Charles arrived. But where is the confidence she showed through a good portion of the season? Magbegor had been blossoming into a real talent and weapon and even expanded her range out to the three-point line. Seattle needs to find that Ezi because they need her.

The Storm’s best bet to win this series is if Gabby Williams can return and become another scoring threat for the team. They need a third and fourth scorer. Maybe it can be Gabby and Talbot combined. Maybe Sue will find her shooting stroke again. Maybe Ezi will wake up and return to form.

I spoke with Coach about the importance of getting that legit third and (possibly) fourth scorer in this series.

“It’s very important. This is the time of the year where everyone has to play their best basketball. It’s a long series, right? The highs and lows will come but in order to beat a team like Las Vegas, everyone has to bring their ‘A’ game. We can’t be mediocre.” Quinn stated.

If it’s only going to be Stewie and Tina or Stewie and Jewell and nobody else. Then Seattle will be sitting at home watching the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals.

Jersey Count

The Storm wore their green and white “Heroine” jerseys. They lost for the first time in the 2022 playoffs. It was Seattle’s first playoff loss with Breanna Stewart in the lineup since Game 4 of the 2018 WNBA Semifinals at Phoenix. This snapped a 13-game playoff winning streak for the Storm with Breanna Stewart in the lineup. Seattle is now 3-1 in the playoffs this year and 25-15 overall combined record between the regular season and the playoffs.

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 7-3 | 2-0 (playoffs)
Explorer: 5-4
Heroine: 10-7 | 1-1 (playoffs)
Overall Record: 22-14 + 3-1 playoffs = 25-15

Up Next

Game 3 is this Sunday in Seattle at 12:00 PM at Climate Pledge Arena. The game will air on ABC but if you’re in the area come out and support the team.

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