The Las Vegas Aces nearly perfected a Game 2 comeback, but came up short in an 83-81 loss. They’ve gone down 2-0 in the series, and face elimination at home.
The Aces’ big three made up a solid chunk of their points. A’ja Wilson led the way with 24 points, Chelsea Gray had 19, and Jackie Young added 14.
Stephanie Talbot, who missed Game 1 with an injury, came up big with 10 points, four rebounds, and a block. Kalani Brown also made an impact from the bench, dropping 9 points and getting eight rebounds.
Despite improving in different categories, the Aces still struggled in rebounding, defense, and shooting. Only two players came off the bench and scored, including Brown and Dana Evans, who had yet to play in a playoff series. Evans ended the game with five points, including a clutch 3-pointer.
The bench players struggled to find a rhythm. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who coach Becky Hammon typically turns to for offensive output, only contributed a single defensive rebound. Mai Yamamoto struggled to get shots off. Justine Pissott struggled to shoot as well. Depth was a big issue for the Aces in this match.
“A lot of their sets are run for their main three, so they’re going to shoot their shots within,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase told reporters after the game. “They have the talent to where they can still get to their spots, whether it’s early in the clock or late. But for us, it’s just constantly making sure that they’re off rhythm.”
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On the other side, every player from the Valkyries bench managed to score. Valkyries guard and former Aces guard Tiffany Hayes came off the bench and dropped 21 points, going 6-for-10 from field goal range and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Kaitlyn Chen scored 7 points in 12 minutes, and the rest of the bench players scored two points each.
In the first half, the Aces struggled offensively with getting shots off. They ended up being down by as many as 16, with the Valkyries taking the lead going into halftime.
“We were back to not really moving the ball as much, and we weren’t able to penetrate and get the ball out as much with attacking closeouts,” Hammon told reporters. “They’re the number one team defensively, and you have to make them work. I think especially in that first quarter, we did not make them work hard enough with the actions and being intentional.”
The Las Vegas defense struggled heavily in the first quarter, allowing 19 points and only scoring 11. The Aces came back with 20 points in the second quarter, but were still outscored by three points. Both sides were even in the third, and the Aces got hot in the fourth, but their 26-point effort fell just short.
“I think we just discovered we were a bit more aggressive,” Talbot told reporters after the game, on what helped their second-half turnaround. “We took it to them. We found some shots. We went a bit bigger. Kalani [Brown] was huge for us inside, took a lot of attention. We can use her a little bit more.”
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Brown’s impact was tremendous in this game. After signing to help take the role of NaLyssa Smith, she embraced the role tonight by helping with rebounding. Rebounding was a major flaw for the Aces in Game 1 of the series. They improved from two offensive rebounds to six, and limited the Valkyries from 52 to 30.
”Better, not good enough,” Hammon told reporters after the game. “I think they had six o-boards, they still out-rebounded us. So, not good enough, but better.”
Amidst the rebounding struggles and injuries, as they played without Jewell Loyd, the Aces return home to Las Vegas and Michelob Ultra Arena. They look to upset the Valkyries and take Game 3 at home on Friday, Oct. 9. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. PST, live on Peacock or NBCSN.
