Aces’ 14-0 opening burst sets the terms in 100-82 WNBA win over Mercury

The first six and a half minutes told the whole story

Las Vegas did not ease into this one. Wilson scored the first six points herself, Jackie Young buried a 27-foot jumper at 7:29 of the first quarter, and Stephanie Talbot finished through contact at 6:38 to make it 14-0. That sequence mattered because it stripped the Mercury of any ordinary opening rhythm. Phoenix spent the rest of the night trying to climb back to a game that had already tilted hard in the Aces’ direction.

The Mercury did answer with stretches of useful offense. Natasha Mack got Phoenix on the board, Kahleah Copper attacked the rim twice, and Marta Suarez hit a late three in the quarter. But every small Phoenix push met another Las Vegas score. Wilson kept working from the mid-range and at the basket, and Jewell Loyd closed the period with a layup for a 32-18 edge. There were no lead changes all night, and the reason sat plainly in that opening quarter: the Aces had the cleaner start, the easier scoring, and the better connectivity between their scorers and passers.

Loyd’s second-quarter burst turned control into separation

If the first quarter set the tone, the second widened the distance. Loyd hit a pullup at 9:43, a three at 9:13, another three and free throw at 8:46, then a third triple at 7:05. In a little more than two and a half minutes of game time, she gave Las Vegas the kind of scoring surge that takes a lead from comfortable to imposing. By then, Phoenix was chasing at both ends.

Las Vegas kept layering points on top of that burst. Kalani Brown scored inside and at the line in a brief, productive stretch, Talbot drilled a three and later added two more baskets before halftime, and Wilson continued to score efficiently around the lane. The result was a 65-36 halftime lead, built not on one hot hand alone but on the Aces’ ability to keep finding the next efficient possession.

Phoenix’s credit comes after the break. The Mercury opened the third quarter with 11 straight points, cutting 65-36 to 65-47 on baskets from Copper, Mack, Alyssa Thomas and Noemie Brochant. It was their best stretch of connected basketball, and it briefly changed the texture of the game. Thomas was central to it, linking possessions as a passer while Phoenix mixed layups, a floater and a deep Brochant make. The Mercury won the quarter 24-12 and got the margin down to 77-60 by the end of the period.

Phoenix made it respectable; Las Vegas made sure it stayed decisive

The late push went a step further in the fourth. Shay Ciezki scored, Brochant got to the rim, and Mack finished inside to trim the deficit to 84-74 with 6:19 left. That was as much pressure as Phoenix managed to place on the result after halftime, and it was earned. Copper finished with 18 points, Mack added 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, Thomas posted nine assists and seven rebounds, and Ciezki chipped in 13 points in 18 minutes. For a team that never led, that was still a meaningful response.

Las Vegas answered with the kind of sequence veteran teams rely on. Young hit a floating jumper at 6:03, Talbot finished a layup at 4:11, Wilson knocked down another jumper at 3:38, Gray added a technical free throw and then a step-back jumper, and Loyd buried a three at 1:13 on the way to the finish. Phoenix had made the scoreline healthier; the Aces made sure it never became truly dangerous.

Our take: this was a star game for Wilson, but it was also a passing game for Las Vegas. The Aces recorded 28 assists, with Gray handing out 10 and Young 11, and that matters because it explains why Wilson’s 34 did not feel isolated. Talbot’s 14 points came on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting line, Loyd scored 25, and Las Vegas also produced 48 points in the paint. That is what a settled offense looks like: not just one elite scorer, but multiple players arriving in scoring spots through ball movement.

Our take: Phoenix can take something from the stretch that opened the third quarter. When Thomas was orchestrating and the Mercury were finishing possessions without giving them away, they looked far more coherent. The problem is that the comeback effort had too much resistance built into it. Phoenix turned the ball over 18 times, and Las Vegas converted those mistakes into 20 points. The Mercury also went 8-of-25 from three-point range. Those are not cosmetic numbers in an 18-point game; they are the difference between a rally that narrows the score and one that genuinely changes the night. Even for the Aces, there is one caution in the result: after scoring 65 in the first half, they managed only 12 in the third and allowed Phoenix to open that period with 11 straight. The win was authoritative, but that lull is the one part of the game Las Vegas should not ignore.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Quarter · 9:29

   A'ja Wilson makes 15-foot jumper (Jackie Young assists)

2. 1st Quarter · 9:07

   A'ja Wilson makes 12-foot two point shot (Jackie Young assists)

3. 1st Quarter · 8:47

   A'ja Wilson makes driving layup (Jackie Young assists)

4. 1st Quarter · 7:29

   Jackie Young makes 27-foot running jump shot (Chelsea Gray assists)

5. 1st Quarter · 7:02

   A'ja Wilson makes 18-foot jumper (Chelsea Gray assists)

6. 1st Quarter · 6:38

   Stephanie Talbot makes 5-foot layup (A'ja Wilson assists)

7. 1st Quarter · 6:38

   Stephanie Talbot makes free throw 1 of 1

8. 1st Quarter · 5:48

   Natasha Mack makes 9-foot jumper (Noemie Brochant assists)

9. 1st Quarter · 5:32

   Kahleah Copper makes running layup

10. 1st Quarter · 5:10

    Chelsea Gray makes 14-foot step back jumpshot

11. 1st Quarter · 4:46

    Kahleah Copper makes running layup

12. 1st Quarter · 4:40

    A'ja Wilson makes driving layup (Jackie Young assists)

13. 1st Quarter · 4:40

    A'ja Wilson makes free throw 1 of 1

14. 1st Quarter · 4:23

    A'ja Wilson makes running layup (Jackie Young assists)

15. 1st Quarter · 4:08

    Noemie Brochant makes 10-foot pullup jump shot (Maddy Westbeld assists)

16. 1st Quarter · 3:47

    Kahleah Copper makes 26-foot running pullup jump shot

17. 1st Quarter · 3:15

    Jewell Loyd makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jackie Young assists)

18. 1st Quarter · 2:55

    Lexi Held makes 9-foot pullup jump shot

19. 1st Quarter · 2:37

    Chelsea Gray makes 9-foot two point shot

20. 1st Quarter · 2:19

    Maddy Westbeld makes 7-foot two point shot

21. 1st Quarter · 2:04

    A'ja Wilson makes 16-foot jumper

22. 1st Quarter · 1:25

    A'ja Wilson makes driving layup (Cheyenne Parker-Tyus assists)

23. 1st Quarter · 48.9

    Marta Suarez makes 23-foot three point jumper (Kahleah Copper assists)

24. 1st Quarter · 28.2

    Jewell Loyd makes driving layup

25. 2nd Quarter · 9:43

    Jewell Loyd makes 13-foot pullup jump shot

26. 2nd Quarter · 9:28

    Valeriane Ayayi makes free throw 2 of 2

27. 2nd Quarter · 9:13

    Jewell Loyd makes 25-foot three point jumper (Mai Yamamoto assists)

28. 2nd Quarter · 8:56

    Maddy Westbeld makes 24-foot three point jumper (Natasha Mack assists)

29. 2nd Quarter · 8:46

    Jewell Loyd makes 24-foot three pointer

30. 2nd Quarter · 8:46

    Jewell Loyd makes free throw 1 of 1

31. 2nd Quarter · 8:01

    Shay Ciezki makes free throw 1 of 2

32. 2nd Quarter · 8:01

    Shay Ciezki makes free throw 2 of 2

33. 2nd Quarter · 7:43

    Kalani Brown makes two point shot

34. 2nd Quarter · 7:24

    Shay Ciezki makes 14-foot pullup jump shot (Valeriane Ayayi assists)

35. 2nd Quarter · 7:05

    Jewell Loyd makes 24-foot three pointer (Chelsea Gray assists)

36. 2nd Quarter · 6:29

    Kalani Brown makes 5-foot layup (Chelsea Gray assists)

37. 2nd Quarter · 6:09

    A'ja Wilson makes 10-foot running jump shot (Chelsea Gray assists)

38. 2nd Quarter · 5:22

    Alyssa Thomas makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot

39. 2nd Quarter · 4:54

    Stephanie Talbot makes 23-foot three point jumper (Jackie Young assists)

40. 2nd Quarter · 4:13

    Kalani Brown makes free throw 1 of 2

41. 2nd Quarter · 4:13

    Kalani Brown makes free throw 2 of 2

42. 2nd Quarter · 3:47

    Kalani Brown makes layup (Jackie Young assists)

43. 2nd Quarter · 3:31

    Stephanie Talbot makes 4-foot layup (Chelsea Gray assists)

44. 2nd Quarter · 3:12

    Marta Suarez makes 25-foot three point jumper (Sami Whitcomb assists)

45. 2nd Quarter · 2:30

    A'ja Wilson makes 5-foot layup (Chelsea Gray assists)

46. 2nd Quarter · 2:07

    Kahleah Copper makes 23-foot three point jumper (Alyssa Thomas assists)

47. 2nd Quarter · 1:04

    Stephanie Talbot makes 12-foot two point shot

48. 2nd Quarter · 48.4

    Kahleah Copper makes free throw 1 of 2

49. 2nd Quarter · 48.4

    Kahleah Copper makes free throw 2 of 2

50. 2nd Quarter · 39.6

    Stephanie Talbot makes driving layup (Jackie Young assists)

51. 3rd Quarter · 9:28

    Kahleah Copper makes running layup

52. 3rd Quarter · 8:55

    Natasha Mack makes 5-foot layup (Alyssa Thomas assists)

53. 3rd Quarter · 8:24

    Kahleah Copper makes driving layup (Alyssa Thomas assists)

54. 3rd Quarter · 7:00

    Alyssa Thomas makes running layup (Kahleah Copper assists)

55. 3rd Quarter · 6:33

    Noemie Brochant makes 27-foot running jump shot (Alyssa Thomas assists)

56. 3rd Quarter · 6:06

    A'ja Wilson makes tip shot

57. 3rd Quarter · 5:38

    A'ja Wilson makes driving layup

58. 3rd Quarter · 5:14

    Sami Whitcomb makes 22-foot three point jumper (Alyssa Thomas assists)

59. 3rd Quarter · 4:55

    A'ja Wilson makes 11-foot pullup jump shot

60. 3rd Quarter · 4:05

    Alyssa Thomas makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot (Kahleah Copper assists)

61. 3rd Quarter · 3:46

    Jewell Loyd makes 12-foot pullup jump shot (A'ja Wilson assists)

62. 3rd Quarter · 2:51

    Natasha Mack makes 15-foot turnaround jump shot (Noemie Brochant assists)

63. 3rd Quarter · 2:13

    Noemie Brochant makes 8-foot floating jump shot (Alyssa Thomas assists)

64. 3rd Quarter · 1:47

    Maddy Westbeld makes 17-foot pullup jump shot (Valeriane Ayayi assists)

65. 3rd Quarter · 1:33

    Jewell Loyd makes 4-foot layup (Jackie Young assists)

66. 3rd Quarter · 30.1

    Chelsea Gray makes driving layup

67. 3rd Quarter · 21.9

    Valeriane Ayayi makes free throw 1 of 2

68. 3rd Quarter · 21.9

    Valeriane Ayayi makes free throw 2 of 2

69. 4th Quarter · 9:45

    Lexi Held makes free throw 1 of 2

70. 4th Quarter · 9:45

    Lexi Held makes free throw 2 of 2

71. 4th Quarter · 9:27

    A'ja Wilson makes 17-foot jumper (Chelsea Gray assists)

72. 4th Quarter · 9:11

    Shay Ciezki makes 11-foot pullup jump shot

73. 4th Quarter · 8:45

    Mai Yamamoto makes 8-foot driving floating jump shot

74. 4th Quarter · 8:35

    Shay Ciezki makes free throw 1 of 2

75. 4th Quarter · 8:35

    Shay Ciezki makes free throw 2 of 2

76. 4th Quarter · 8:02

    Lexi Held makes free throw 2 of 2

77. 4th Quarter · 7:44

    A'ja Wilson makes 25-foot three point jumper (Chelsea Gray assists)

78. 4th Quarter · 7:13

    Shay Ciezki makes 25-foot three pointer (Alyssa Thomas assists)

79. 4th Quarter · 6:49

    Noemie Brochant makes running layup

80. 4th Quarter · 6:19

    Natasha Mack makes driving layup

81. 4th Quarter · 6:03

    Jackie Young makes 9-foot driving floating jump shot (Chelsea Gray assists)

82. 4th Quarter · 5:18

    Shay Ciezki makes 8-foot driving floating jump shot (Noemie Brochant assists)

83. 4th Quarter · 4:59

    Jewell Loyd makes free throw 1 of 2

84. 4th Quarter · 4:47

    Natasha Mack makes 5-foot layup (Alyssa Thomas assists)

85. 4th Quarter · 4:11

    Stephanie Talbot makes 5-foot layup (A'ja Wilson assists)

86. 4th Quarter · 3:54

    Kahleah Copper makes 15-foot pullup jump shot (Alyssa Thomas assists)

87. 4th Quarter · 3:38

    A'ja Wilson makes 18-foot jumper (Jackie Young assists)

88. 4th Quarter · 3:20

    Chelsea Gray makes technical free throw

89. 4th Quarter · 2:17

    Chelsea Gray makes 17-foot step back jumpshot

90. 4th Quarter · 1:58

    Natasha Mack makes 6-foot layup (Shay Ciezki assists)

91. 4th Quarter · 1:13

    Jewell Loyd makes 23-foot three point jumper (A'ja Wilson assists)

92. 4th Quarter · 19.5

    Chelsea Gray makes 26-foot three pointer