By Morris Phillips
INDIANAPOLIS — Aces’ head coach Bill Laimbeer might be losing sleep, fretting about his team’s slow starts, overall intensity and perimeter scoring, but at least tonight, he’ll experience his insomnia at the top of the WNBA standings.
The Aces pushed their win streak to four by outlasting the Indiana Fever, 74-71, on Wednesday afternoon at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Fever were limited to ten, fourth quarter points, and A’ja Wilson made a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to give the Aces their final cushion. Las Vegas got the win despite trailing by five after three quarters, and shooting just 36.5 percent from the floor.
“We didn’t play well, but we got the win,” Laimbeer said. “That’s the sign of a good team.”
The Aces fell behind 8-0, failing to score in the game’s first four minutes, then with a slim, 53-50 lead late in the third quarter, they surrendered an 11-1 run to the Fever, in which they suffered their biggest deficit of the afternoon (61-54 with four seconds remaining). While Wilson and Cambage were effective scorers from the free throw line in, the Las Vegas perimeter trio of Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Sugar Rodgers combined to miss 14 of their 21 shots.
Those issues touched on all of Laimbeer’s reoccurring fears that threaten to prevent the Aces from morphing into a WNBA title contender, but on Wednesday, they didn’t prevent the club from snatching a victory. In the final quarter, the defense stiffened, forcing the Fever to miss 13 of their final 17 shots. Rodgers came up with a big three to start the fourth, and Wilson and Cambage provided all the offense down the stretch.
The Fevers’ Candice Dupree had a chance to tie the game in the final 10 seconds, but missed the second of two free throws, and Wilson was fouled after grabbing the rebound. After sinking both free throws, Wilson and the Aces survived when Kelsey Mitchell’s jumper bounced off the rim with a second remaining.
“I thought the defense was solid enough, but we didn’t put ourselves in position to win the basketball game,” Indiana coach Pokey Chatman conceded.
Jake Schuman, a 4-year old from suburban Indianapolis, sang the national anthem, all part of a youthful, matinee crowd announced at 9,247 that may not have been basketball savvy, but was plenty loud. The Fever opened a three-game home stand hoping to capture their biggest win of the season, but came up three points short.
The Aces have won 8 of 10 after a 2-3 start, and in ascending to the top of the league standings, benefitted from the suspension of their home game against the Mystics, in which they trailed by double digits at the half. The remainder of that game has yet to be rescheduled, but in its absence, the Aces, at least for now, are on top.
“It’s been a really, long time since we’ve been in first place in anything,” Kayla McBride said. “But I feel like we’re really jelling as a team.”
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