Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) is pressured by the Indiana Fever’s forward Makayla Timpson (21) and guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) in round one game three at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Thu Oct 1,2026 (AP News photo)
By Rich Perez
Thursday night the Las Vegas Aces took game three of the WNBA Playoffs beating the Indiana Fever in Game 3 of a winner -take-all first round series 94-83. The Aces had home court advantage in this contest, the most important game so far this season for Las Vegas.
The Aces will move on while the Fever’s season came to an abrupt end. This was a battle between two of the greatest players to ever take the court, veteran A’Ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark. It was a real battle that went down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
This was a battle from the very start in the opening quarter ending with a 31-31 tie after the first ten minutes of play. The two teams traded baskets with both teams created a little distance.
The defending champs were favored by 4 1/2 points in this nail biter.. At the half the Aces had a 54-48 lead. Las Vegas continued to lead 70-65 as the third quarter came to an end although the Fever had cut the Aces lead in half.
As expected the fourth quarter was a wild one, a real nail-biter as the Fever continued to challenge with the Aces continuing to fight back. The final minute of the game was crazy with the Aces taking an 86-82 lead with 46 ticks left in the game.
Wilson was fouled by Boston, Wilson hitting both free throws giving her team an 88-83 lead. This was the time for the Aces to hunker down with 35 seconds left on the clock. Chelsea Gray was fouled to finish off this game off making both free throws. Las Vegas ran the clock out and is headed to the semi-finals winning game three.
GAME RECAP
This game got underway in front of a packed house at Michelob ULTRA Arena; The two teams traded baskets back and forth throughout the first ten minutes of play. Neither team was able to take any sort of lead going into the second quarter, this game tied at 31.
The game began to slowly turn around for the Aces in the second quarter. It was close to the six minute mark when the Aces took a four-point lead 40-36. With under four minutes left in the half the score was once again tied at 42. The Aces plugged away advancing their lead a little at a time taking a 51-43 lead with one minute left on the clock. At halftime Las Vegas had taken a 54-48 lead.
Las Vegas extended their lead in the third quarter; their largest lead of the game was twelve points. The Fever began to push back in the final minutes of the third quarter cutting the Vegas lead to six 68-62. The Fever went on a 9-1 run with 30 seconds left in the quarter. Going into the fourth quarter the Aces were hanging onto a 70-65 lead. Las Vegas was ten-minutes away from advancing to the next round.
It would all come down to the final quarter to decide the winner of this series. In the past Las Vegas had stumbled in the fourth quarter of games but has since cleaned that up. It would be a fight to the final seconds of the game. The outcome of the game would rest on the Aces defense. Keeping a handle on the Fever would be no easy task; two teams bent on winning game three and advancing.
The Aces had to continued to answer when the Fever got within two points 72-70. It would be the longest fourth quarter of the season for aces fans. Will the determination and grit of Las Vegas be enough?
Needless to say, the Arena was rocking as the Aces started to push their lead taking a 80-70 lead with four minutes left in the game. Into the fourth quarter the Fever’s big three Clark, Boston and Mitchell had scored 50 while the Aces leaders Wilson, Young and Grey had scored 63.
With just four minutes left in the game there was a lot of ball left to be played. We all expected a dog fight and these two teams sure delivered. With under three minutes the Aces had a 82-80 lead their offense faltering.
If possible the intensity of this game rose to an even higher level in the final minutes. It was Las Vegas that outlasted the Fever heading into the semi-finals winning game three.
GAME NOTES
Wilson did not want to go home that was apparent in this game three finishing with 36 points and ten rebounds for a double double in 37 minutes of play. Chelsea Gray had 23 points and Jackie Young had 18 points and eight rebounds. It was one epic game for Las Vegas.
The one thing Las Vegas was looking for was a better defensive effort and that’s just what they got. They controlled the game defensively. In Game 2 the Fever scored 99 points and in Game three the Aces held the Fever to 83.
The Aces made it a lot harder for Clark and Mitchell to generate the offense they had in Game 2. A’Ja Wilson despite being in foul trouble really bounced back from her performance in Game 2.
She was really involved Thursday night and forced Indiana to defend the paint. Jackie Young was important on both ends. She not only scored but also pressured Indiana’s perimeter players. Chelsea Gray was amazing in the fourth quarter actually taking over the second half.
The Aces did not have to entirely depend on Wilson but got some great support from their secondary scoring. That was something that really kept the Fever from loading up on Wilson.
Las Vegas will now wait to see who will be their opponent in the semi-finals. The Valkyries or the Wings will match-up Friday night. The Liberty will take on the Dream this coming Sunday and the Aces will wait to see who their opponent will be. Times for either of those game have not yet been determined.
