The Las Vegas Aces didn’t just win Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, they cut the heart and soul out of the Phoenix Mercury’s title hopes.
Whatever chance the Mercury had of winning the 2025 championship, or at least keeping the Aces honest, evaporated after the first quarter, Sunday at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. Phoenix couldn’t capitalize on its big leads – first seven points and then eight – letting Las Vegas back in each time. Then the Aces stars started cooking, and the Mercury had no answer.
That second quarter, when A’ja Wilson single-handedly outscored Phoenix? That third, when Jackie Young popped off for 21? That’s how titles are won. When you get an edge on your opponent, you jam your foot on the gas and you don’t take it off.
“That’s the goal, to not let up,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said after her team took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series with their 91-78 dismantling of Phoenix.
“You just don’t want to have a satisfied locker room because we’re not there yet,” Hammon said. “We did what we’re supposed to do.”
But it’s the way Las Vegas did it that will give Phoenix sleepless nights in the offseason.
No on-the-job training in Finals
The Finals are a different beast, even from other playoff series. The Aces know that intimately, the core of their teams that won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 still here. They know you can’t give the other team openings, or you might never recover. They know, too, that if you get one of those openings, you have to take advantage of it.
And then some.
After the Mercury dominated the opening minutes of the game, Las Vegas’ defense started clicking. A defensive rebound became a layup for Wilson. A steal became a stepback jumper. An offensive rebound became a putback. Within a few possessions, the game had gone sideways for Phoenix, and they were never able to get it back.
“I thought we were pretty stagnant offensively,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “We tried to force it a little bit ourselves and tried to go get it. That’s part of us just trying to figure it out as a group.”
There isn’t time for that in the Finals. You have to find an answer in the moment or you’re going to be roadkill.
That’s what Las Vegas did in Game 1. Young had, as Hammon said, “no legs, no lift” Friday night. Wilson had 21 points, but seven came at the free throw line. So how did the Aces win that one? They got monster efforts from Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd.
You figure it out. You get other people involved. You change up your schemes. You do whatever you have to or this window will be gone.
“Even our whole year, the process is always equipping you for what’s coming next. I think they really embraced that,” Hammon said. “It takes a special group to embrace hard.”
But the Aces know what the reward is when they do.
Hard work pays off
Wilson, Young and Chelsea Gray might not have a monster collective effort like this in Game 3. Young had 32 points and eight rebounds Sunday, while Wilson had a double-double with 28 and 14. Gray had 10 assists, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks to go with her 10 points.
If they don’t, though, the Aces know how to adjust. They know how to weather storms. They know how to go to Plan B. They know how to respond.
They know how to win at this time of year.
“We just have to play the game that’s in front of us,” Wilson said. “We don’t look at the series as just the numbers. We look it at as, ‘This is another opportunity for us to play basketball the right way.’ Going into Phoenix, that’s the same mindset we’re going to have.’
“We’ve been through a lot,” she added. “We can’t stop here. We can’t be satisfied.”
It is not easy to win a championship. It takes a relentlessness and a commitment like no other time, be it in the regular season or even the playoffs. The Aces know this. The Mercury are learning it the hard way.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.