Headed Into the Matchup
Phoenix was the epicenter of basketball yesterday. The Suns faced off with the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the Sun's debut since making the NBA finals last season. However, despite that, they were not the main event for the night. The Lakers Suns game was simply a warm-up. The real show was the WNBA western conference finals. This matchup had the Phoenix Mercury facing the Las Vegas Aces. The Mercury led the series 2-1 and had an opportunity to close it out at home. Although, the Aces were a 2 seed for a reason. After a historic performance, Las Vegas forced a game 5.
Mid-3rd Quarter
On paper, the Aces 93-76 victory appears like a blowout. The box score did not represent how close the game was. The Aces held a lead for the majority of the game. However, Phoenix was battling the entire game. Towards the middle of the 3rd, the Mercury was making a push to take the lead. Future Hall of Famer Brittney Griner made a hook shot to push the lead within 3. That is when history intervened with the Las Vegas Aces.
A Historic Run
All-Star Liz Cambage caught the ball and hit an easy jumper. That gave the Aces a 5 point lead and some momentum. Guard Chelsea Gray scored 5 straight points for the Aces. This kicked off a historic 24-0 run for Las Vegas. The run only lasted 7 minutes. However, by the end of it was clear that Las Vegas earned the right to play a game 5.
Shocking Phoenix
After that 24-0 run, Phoenix was down nearly 30 points heading into the fourth quarter. The Mercury attempted to make a run. Although, it seemed as if Phoenix was still in shock about what had just happened. Diana Taurasi has had a long career and has seen everything in the basketball world. After all these years even Taurasi was surprised about what she had just witnessed.
"I didn't even know it was happening. The Things we did in the previous two games we did not lock into."
Key Players
The Aces had shocked the basketball world but are not satisfied. After the game, multiple different players shifted their focus on the deciding game 5. Chelsea Gray was the leading scorer for Las Vegas finishing with 22 points. A'ja Wilson had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Phoenix and Las Vegas are back in action this Friday with a trip to the WNBA finals on the line.
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