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A'ja Wilson scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jackie Young added 29 points and 9 assists, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the New York Liberty 104-99 on Thursday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Young made all 12 of her free throws, six of them in the final 16 seconds. She hit a pair with 15.7 seconds left, stole a Pauline Astier pass six-tenths of a second later, and made two more after being fouled. Young added two more with 6 seconds remaining. The 12 makes were a career high, and the 12 attempts matched her career best.
Wilson shot 11-of-22 from the field and 10-of-11 from the line, and she added 6 assists. She scored 18 points in the third quarter on 8-of-10 shooting after taking eight shots in the first half.
Aces coach Becky Hammon was asked about the shooting.
"I mean, it always helps when the three balls are going in. But I thought Jackie got off to some really good rhythm shots," Hammon said. "We had 25 assists tonight, which means we're probably taking a good amount of decent quality looks. So you're always going to shoot a better percentage when you're taking good quality looks."
Breanna Stewart led New York with 26 points and 11 rebounds and added 3 steals and 1 block. She passed Candace Parker for 10th on the WNBA's career scoring list on a cutting layup with 8:58 left in the third quarter. Stewart has scored at least 15 points in 14 straight games, matching the longest such run of her career.
Astier scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 4 assists and 2 steals. She is the seventh rookie in Liberty history to reach 100 made field goals. Sabrina Ionescu had 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jonquel Jones shot 2-of-11 and finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rebecca Allen set season highs with 13 points and three 3-pointers. Marine Fauthoux scored 9 points off the bench.
Liberty coach Chris DeMarco was asked about New York's perimeter defense.
"Yeah, I mean, they hit some open ones and then they hit some tough ones, but you can't take everything away," DeMarco said. "We know that, and they got hot a little bit, and obviously we have to do a better job with our shot challenges, and probably earlier than that — probably just pursuit and trying to get connected and not stress our bigs out."
Young scored 15 points in the first quarter on three 3-pointers, a season high for her in a quarter. She had 22 by halftime on 7-of-9 shooting as Las Vegas took a 52-44 lead into the break. New York went scoreless over the last 2:35 of the half.
All nine lead changes and three of the four ties came in the first quarter.
DeMarco was assessed a technical foul to open the fourth quarter, and Young made the free throw. New York answered with an 11-2 run while holding Las Vegas without a field goal on its first four attempts of the period, and Stewart's pullup with 6:54 left cut the margin to 83-82. Chelsea Gray scored on the next possession for the first Las Vegas basket of the quarter.
Gray's 3-pointer with 3:30 to play put the Aces ahead 95-87. New York scored the next 6 points to get within 95-93 with 1:10 remaining. Wilson answered with a driving layup and a free throw.
Gray fouled out with 20.8 seconds left and finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Jewell Loyd scored 6 points and Brianna Turner had 4 points and 3 rebounds.
Las Vegas shot 92.6% from the free-throw line on 25-of-27, a season high. The Aces made 13-of-28 from three. New York outscored Las Vegas 50-34 in the paint and 15-2 on second-chance points, and outrebounded the Aces 34-26. The Liberty held Las Vegas without an offensive rebound in the first half. New York shot 61.1% from the field after halftime.
Wilson has scored in double figures in a league-leading 51 consecutive games. Her run of nine straight 20-point games is the second-longest in the league. Thursday was her 31st career game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, the most in league history. It was also her 14th double-double of the season. Young has 6 games this season with at least 9 assists and no more than 2 turnovers, the most in the league. Gray has recorded at least 4 assists in 16 straight games.
Las Vegas played without Kierstan Bell, who has a right leg injury, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who is in concussion protocol. New York was without Leonie Fiebich, who has a left foot injury, and Satou Sabally, who is in concussion protocol.
The announced attendance was 10,500, the 60th consecutive sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
New York had won three in a row, including a 113-109 win at Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Liberty beat Las Vegas 87-76 on June 23 and won the Commissioner's Cup championship 93-85 over the Aces on June 30. Las Vegas has won two straight after beating Portland 98-83 on Tuesday.
The Aces improved to 20-8 and the Liberty fell to 16-13.
Las Vegas opens a five-game road trip at the Chicago Sky on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 10 a.m. PT at Wintrust Arena, and the game will be televised on CBS. New York plays at Phoenix on Saturday.
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Young made all 12 of her free throws, six of them in the final 16 seconds. She hit a pair with 15.7 seconds left, stole a Pauline Astier pass six-tenths of a second later, and made two more after being fouled. Young added two more with 6 seconds remaining. The 12 makes were a career high, and the 12 attempts matched her career best.
Wilson shot 11-of-22 from the field and 10-of-11 from the line, and she added 6 assists. She scored 18 points in the third quarter on 8-of-10 shooting after taking eight shots in the first half.
Aces coach Becky Hammon was asked about the shooting.
"I mean, it always helps when the three balls are going in. But I thought Jackie got off to some really good rhythm shots," Hammon said. "We had 25 assists tonight, which means we're probably taking a good amount of decent quality looks. So you're always going to shoot a better percentage when you're taking good quality looks."
Breanna Stewart led New York with 26 points and 11 rebounds and added 3 steals and 1 block. She passed Candace Parker for 10th on the WNBA's career scoring list on a cutting layup with 8:58 left in the third quarter. Stewart has scored at least 15 points in 14 straight games, matching the longest such run of her career.
Astier scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 4 assists and 2 steals. She is the seventh rookie in Liberty history to reach 100 made field goals. Sabrina Ionescu had 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jonquel Jones shot 2-of-11 and finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rebecca Allen set season highs with 13 points and three 3-pointers. Marine Fauthoux scored 9 points off the bench.
Liberty coach Chris DeMarco was asked about New York's perimeter defense.
"Yeah, I mean, they hit some open ones and then they hit some tough ones, but you can't take everything away," DeMarco said. "We know that, and they got hot a little bit, and obviously we have to do a better job with our shot challenges, and probably earlier than that — probably just pursuit and trying to get connected and not stress our bigs out."
Young scored 15 points in the first quarter on three 3-pointers, a season high for her in a quarter. She had 22 by halftime on 7-of-9 shooting as Las Vegas took a 52-44 lead into the break. New York went scoreless over the last 2:35 of the half.
All nine lead changes and three of the four ties came in the first quarter.
DeMarco was assessed a technical foul to open the fourth quarter, and Young made the free throw. New York answered with an 11-2 run while holding Las Vegas without a field goal on its first four attempts of the period, and Stewart's pullup with 6:54 left cut the margin to 83-82. Chelsea Gray scored on the next possession for the first Las Vegas basket of the quarter.
Gray's 3-pointer with 3:30 to play put the Aces ahead 95-87. New York scored the next 6 points to get within 95-93 with 1:10 remaining. Wilson answered with a driving layup and a free throw.
Gray fouled out with 20.8 seconds left and finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Jewell Loyd scored 6 points and Brianna Turner had 4 points and 3 rebounds.
Las Vegas shot 92.6% from the free-throw line on 25-of-27, a season high. The Aces made 13-of-28 from three. New York outscored Las Vegas 50-34 in the paint and 15-2 on second-chance points, and outrebounded the Aces 34-26. The Liberty held Las Vegas without an offensive rebound in the first half. New York shot 61.1% from the field after halftime.
Wilson has scored in double figures in a league-leading 51 consecutive games. Her run of nine straight 20-point games is the second-longest in the league. Thursday was her 31st career game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, the most in league history. It was also her 14th double-double of the season. Young has 6 games this season with at least 9 assists and no more than 2 turnovers, the most in the league. Gray has recorded at least 4 assists in 16 straight games.
Las Vegas played without Kierstan Bell, who has a right leg injury, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who is in concussion protocol. New York was without Leonie Fiebich, who has a left foot injury, and Satou Sabally, who is in concussion protocol.
The announced attendance was 10,500, the 60th consecutive sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
New York had won three in a row, including a 113-109 win at Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Liberty beat Las Vegas 87-76 on June 23 and won the Commissioner's Cup championship 93-85 over the Aces on June 30. Las Vegas has won two straight after beating Portland 98-83 on Tuesday.
The Aces improved to 20-8 and the Liberty fell to 16-13.
Las Vegas opens a five-game road trip at the Chicago Sky on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 10 a.m. PT at Wintrust Arena, and the game will be televised on CBS. New York plays at Phoenix on Saturday.
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