A’ja Wilson and Dana Evans lead Las Vegas Aces past Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in WNBA Finals opener

LAS VEGAS — The Aces hadn’t spent a lot of time working on zone defense, so what better time than the fourth quarter of a WNBA Finals game?

It worked out perfectly for Las Vegas.

The zone cooled off hot-shooting Phoenix just enough to allow the Aces, who received 21 points each from A’ja Wilson and Dana Evans, to rally for an 89-86 Game 1 victory Friday night.

Wilson scored 12 points over the final 14 minutes, and Phoenix’s Satou Sabally missed a long 3-pointer with 2 seconds left that would have tied it.

Game 2 is Sunday in Las Vegas.

The Mercury made 6 of 18 shots in the fourth quarter, including 2 of 12 from 3-point range. They entered that period shooting 52.1%, including 50% from 3.

“I was seeing them score too much against our man (defense),” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “I thought them getting the ball in the paint, whether it was off a pass or penetration, was really hurting us. It was putting us very vulnerable on the back side with those 3s. So just tried something different so we didn’t give up the middle so easily. We were able to fan out a little better and find those shooters.”

Evans led an Aces bench that outscored the Mercury’s reserves 41-16. She also became the first player in a Finals game to record five 3-pointers and four steals.

“I’ve said multiple times that Dana’s our battery,” Wilson said. “She makes us play at a different pace. I told her we go as she goes. We’re always going to try to follow her because we know she’s very hard to stop in this league.”

Reserve Jewell Loyd scored 18 points for second-seeded Las Vegas, and starter Jackie Young had 10. Wilson had 10 rebounds, and Chelsea Gray had 10 assists.

Kahleah Cooper scored 21 points for the fourth-seeded Mercury. Sabally added 19 points and Alyssa Thomas had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Copper scored 19 points in the first half, one off her playoff career high for a half. Her personal best also came against the Mercury, when she scored 20 points for Chicago in the first half of Game 3 of the 2021 Finals. Copper’s five 3-pointers in the first half topped her previous high of four for a game.

If this game was any indication, these Finals — a best-of-seven series for the first time — figure to be tight throughout. The largest lead was nine points, and there were 12 lead changes and nine ties.

The Mercury threatened to take control several times, only for the Aces to respond with a run. In the end, it was Las Vegas that nearly pulled away, only for Phoenix to keep it close.

With Phoenix down a point with 24.6 seconds left, Thomas went to the free-throw line but missed both. Young was fouled on the other end with 13.5 seconds remaining and made both free throws for the final margin.

After a day off, the Aces will either take a major step toward winning their third title in four years or the Mercury will even the series in hopes of tying the WNBA record with four championships.

“It’s going to be a great series,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “It’s going to come down to the last possessions of the game. They’ve been through it together. We’ve handled these situations very well.”

The Mercury might have the Aces where they want them. Phoenix lost the opening game in each of its first two series before coming back to first knock out defending champion New York and then top seed Minnesota.

“We’ll walk through our mistakes and find better solutions for some things,” Sabally said. “And then we’ll just come back on Sunday and win this game.”