Aces vs. Fever: A'ja Wilson Scores 36 as Las Vegas Wins First Round Game 3 and Ends Indiana's Season

A'ja Wilson treats elimination games like a personal invitation. With a semifinal berth on the line, the four-time WNBA MVP had 21 points by halftime, kept marching to the free-throw line after it and finished with 36 points and 10 rebounds.

That was the difference as the defending champion Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 94-83 on Thursday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena, winning the deciding Game 3 of their best-of-three first-round series and taking it 2-1. For the second straight year, Las Vegas is the team that ended Indiana's season.

A First Quarter With the Volume Maxed Out

Nobody eased into this one. The teams traded buckets to a 31-31 tie after one quarter, with Caitlin Clark scoring 11 in the period and playing like someone who had read the stakes twice.

The edge showed up early, too. Just over three minutes in, Brianna Turner worked her way into Indiana's huddle on the court and was shoved back out by Clark, and both were hit with technical fouls. Early in the second quarter, Fever coach Stephanie White was given a technical of her own while arguing that Turner had brought down Lexie Hull, who was called for the foul instead. Playoff basketball, extra spicy.

Las Vegas won the second quarter 23-17 and took a 54-48 lead into halftime. In the third, the Aces looked ready to run away with it, stretching the margin to 67-55. Then they went cold, making just one shot over the final 4:32 of the period, and Indiana crept back to 70-65 entering the fourth.

Kelsey Mitchell Tries to Flip the Script

The Fever twice cut the deficit to two in the fourth quarter, and the second push was a Kelsey Mitchell solo act. After Chelsea Gray's 20-foot step-back made it 82-73 with 4:26 left, Mitchell scored seven straight Indiana points: two free throws, a two-pointer and a 25-foot step-back 3 at the 3:00 mark that made it 82-80.

Gray answered like someone who has seen every version of this movie. She made two free throws at 2:15 and a 16-foot pull-up at 1:25 for an 86-80 lead. Clark hit a short jumper to make it 86-82, but Las Vegas scored its final eight points at the line, two apiece from Wilson, Gray, Jackie Young and Wilson again, while Indiana managed only one Mitchell free throw the rest of the way.

A'ja Wilson, Bookend Specialist

Wilson's night: 36 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 2 of 3 from 3 and 12 of 15 at the line, plus 10 rebounds and two blocks in 37 minutes. She opened the series with 38 points and 16 rebounds in Game 1 and slammed the door with this. Indiana took Game 2 at home, then got the full A'ja experience in the desert.

Gray was the closer, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line. Young stuffed the box score with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes. Jewell Loyd moved into the starting lineup for Stephanie Talbot, who missed the game with a leg injury, and gave Las Vegas 11 points on three 3s. Talbot had started all but one game this season, per the AP.

"She was a game-time decision," Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Talbot.

Indiana's Stars Ran Out of Runway

Mitchell led the Fever with 23 points, but it took 23 shots, and she made seven. Clark finished with 18 points, four assists and four blocks, yet after that 11-point first quarter she managed seven the rest of the way. She shot 6 of 18, went 3 of 12 from deep and had six turnovers. In the fourth quarter, she took a shot to the mouth that drew blood and needed attention, which tells you exactly how physical this got.

Aliyah Boston was excellent with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Myisha Hines-Allen gave Indiana 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The Fever won the paint 36-22 and the offensive glass 9-2. They simply could not make enough from outside, shooting 9 of 32 from 3, and they could not keep Las Vegas off the line.

"We've got to give credit to the Aces," Clark said. "I thought they played well. I thought they were ready to go. That's what championship teams do."

Gray's Answer

Mitchell's 25-footer at the 3:00 mark made it 82-80 and put real pressure on the champs. Gray's response, two free throws and then a 16-foot pull-up with 1:25 left, pushed it back to six. The Fever never got closer than four again, and the final minute became a free-throw procession.

The Math of a Clincher

• 28 of 35: Las Vegas at the free-throw line, compared with 14 of 20 for Indiana.
• 21: Wilson's first-half points, more than half of her 36.
• 38 percent: Indiana's shooting from the field on 30-of-78 attempts, including 9 of 32 from deep.
• 9-2: The Fever's offensive rebounding edge, which kept them hanging around.
• 71 percent: The share of the game Las Vegas spent in the lead.

Champs Advance, Fever Relive Last Year

Next for Las Vegas, the No. 3 seed and winner of three of the last four championships per the AP: a semifinal date with whoever survives Friday night's Golden State-Dallas Game 3 in San Francisco. Las Vegas dropped Game 2 in Indianapolis 99-89 but won both games at home in this series, 102-85 in the opener and 94-83 here.

For sixth-seeded Indiana, this one stings in a familiar way. These teams also met in last year's semifinals, a five-game series that Las Vegas closed out with an overtime win in the finale. This time the Fever pushed the champs to a third game and had them sweating late, but the ending came out the same. Clark said the Aces were ready. The scoreboard agreed.

The Bridge Always Hits

Wilson in a Game 3 is like the bridge of a Taylor Swift song: you know it is coming, you brace for it, and it still flattens you. Indiana brought the physicality, the paint dominance and a fourth-quarter scare. Las Vegas brought the four-time MVP and a point guard who refused to miss when it mattered. In the playoffs, that trade usually only goes one way, and on Thursday it did again.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press.