Aces vs. Mercury: WNBA Finals Game 3 LIVE Log

Keep track of the happenings in the desert as the WNBA Finals shift to the Phoenix Mercury’s domain for Game 3 against the Las Vegas Aces.

The Phoenix Mercury certainly hope that what happened in Vegas will stay in Vegas.

Phoenix is down 2-0 in the championship set against the Las Vegas Aces but will be back in its friendly desert confines on Wednesday night. Game 3 of the Finals’ original best-of-seven showdown will be staged at the newly-named Mortgage Matchup Center after the Aces successfully defended their home floor in Sin City.

Las Vegas handily took a 91-78 decision in Game 2 of the series over the weekend after things opened up with a narrow showing.

The Aces went up by as much as 22 in the second win, as they were primarily sustained by a 32-point scoring effort from Jackie Young, who set a WNBA Finals record with 21 tallies in the third period alone to break a 14-year record set by Angel McCoughtry. A’ja Wilson (28 points, 14 rebounds) and Chelsea Gray (10 points, 10 assists) each had double-doubles while Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 23 points in defeat. 

Phoenix will have to topple some dire history if they have dreams of stealing the Finals trophy: to date, no team has ever won the Finals after falling behind 2-0 in the series. 

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3rd Quarter

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Halftime Leaders

Aces (55)

Points: A’ja Wilson (17)
Assists: Jackie Young (8)
Rebounds: A’ja Wilson (7)

Foul Trouble: Dana Evans (3)

Mercury (43)

Points: Satou Sabally (15)
Assists: Alyssa Thomas (5)
Rebounds: DeWanner Bonner, Alyssa Thomas (6)

Foul Trouble: DeWanner Bonner, Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas (2)

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2nd Quarter: Aces 55, Mercury 43

0.0—Smith’s drive off the feed from Young re-establishes the lead at a dozen while Phoenix is unable to respond with Whitcomb’s three in the corner. Halfway through Game 3 (55-43 LVA)

29.7—Following two more tallies from Young at the foul line, another Bonner putback stops an Aces run at nine in a row (53-43 LVA)

1:13—After two more from Wilson at the line, Gray re-establishes Sin City’s double-figure lead with another three (51-41 LVA)

2:27—Out of the timeout, Wilson braves a double-team to bank one in (46-41 LVA)

2:47—Thomas takes a pass away from Wilson, and takes it the other way for another double to get to double figures, part one of a potential triple-double. Timeout Vegas. (44-41 LVA)

3:12—Burdened with three fouls, Evans is unable to contest Sabally’s finish off a deep pass from Thomas (44-39 LVA)

4:03—Las Vegas calls timeout to call for a challenge of Evans’ third foul, which would send Bonner to the line. The call stands and Bonner hits one of two. Evans remains in the game (44-37 LVA)

4:15—Bonner’s second foul, making her the first Arizonan with two, allows Wilson to complete a three-point play (44-36 LVA)

4:31—Loyd re-enters the game while Bonner hits two foul shots off a Gray foul (41-36 LVA)

4:53—Following an exchange of doubles, Evans once again expands the lead with her second three in as many attempts (41-34 LVA)

5:56—A Gray three sunk amidst a shot clock violation is briefly reviewed. The original call of a violation stands 

6:44—Off the timeout, Akoa Makani sinks a big three (36-32 LVA)

6:57—Phoenix is forced into another timeout after Gray turns a rejection of Sabally into a double before Young hits another three (36-29 LVA)

7:35—Thomas ties the game with an athletic drive down the middle but Young instantly grants Las Vegas the lead back (31-29 LVA)

8:29—After Smith’s second foul and a Copper double, Thomas hits two at the foul line (29-27 LVA)

9:18—Evans helps Vegas pick up where it left off with its sixth three-point. Vegas may have earned an extra possession with an inaccurate shot clock reset, but the game carries on (29-23 LVA)

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1st Quarter: Aces 26, Mercury 23

0.0—Las Vegas maintains the three-point lead with a Gray jumper that served as a response to Thomas’ reverse layup on a Whitcomb feed. Dana Evans’ strip of Thomas prevented Phoenix from getting a last shot up. (26-23 LVA)

53.3—Another rejection for Bonner is called a shooting foul that will send Wilson to the line. Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbets is charged with a technical foul for arguing it. Wilson sinks the extra single before hitting her originally-rewarded pair (24-21 LVA)

1:34—Another strong showcase for Bonner off the bench: after the two sides exchange misses (with Bonner blocking a Wilson jumper), Bonner ties the game with a three earned off her own offensive rebound (21-21)

2:09—Whitcomb swipes a bad pass from Megan Gustafson (who just entered for Gray) and finds Sabally once again. A fastbreak double leads to one-possession game, a pumped up crowd, and a Las Vegas timeout (21-18 LVA)

2:29—Sabally once again earns two and a single at the foul line, this time victimizing Loyd. She completes the three-point play again (21-16 LVA)

2:49—Following Loyd’s awaited first misfire from deep, Bonner takes advantage with a two (21-13 LVA)

3:25—Sabally fianlly stems the bleeding at a 17-0 run, driving against Gray to score and draw a foul. She converts the three-point play (21-11 LVA)

3:48—Loyd, again, hits a triple, her fourth (21-8 LVA)

4:14—Loyd hits yet another three, giving her half of the Vegas points on three tries from deep (18-8 LVA)

5:12—Loyd immediately sinks another triple, leading to a Phoenix timeout as they’re forced to deal with an 11-0 run. Following the timeout, DeWanna Bonner and Sami Whitcomb check in for Mack and Akoa Makani respectively on the Mercury side. (15-8 LVA)

5:43—Wilson’s emphatic rejection of Monique Akoa Makani and a Young offensive rebound leads to a Loyd triple (12-8 LVA)

6:14—Wilson’s three-pointer, the first of the day and following a two-point jumper, gives Vegas its first lead (9-8 LVA)

6:57—Following a Young double, NaLyssa Smith commits the first foul of the game and sends Thomas to the line. She hits one of two. In between, Jewell Loyd steps in for Kiersten Bell. (8-4 PHX)

7:50—Alyssa Thomas gets the points back with a putback of a Young rejection of Sabally (7-2 PHX)

8:32—A’ja Wilson gets Vegas on the board with a two-point jumper (5-2 PHX)

8:52—Sabally now sinks a three off the feed from Mack (5-0 PHX)

9:35—Satou Sabally gets Phoenix on the board to open things up (2-0 PHX)

10:00—Natasha Mack wins the opening tip from NaLyssa Smith and Game 3 is underway

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Pregame

What: Las Vegas Aces @ Phoenix Mercury, WNBA Finals, Game 3 (LVA leads series 2-0)
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
Watch: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Who’s Favored: PHX -4.5

Starting Lineups

ACES: Kiersten Bell, Chelsea Gray,  NaLyssa Smith, A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young
MERCURY: Monique Akoa Makani, Kahleah Copper, Natasha Mack, Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas

Injuries

ACES: None
MERCURY: None

Referees: Amy Bonner, Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, Tara Cruse