Aces vs. Liberty: A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young Combine for 62 as Las Vegas Outlasts New York 104-99

New York had used up every challenge it had, and that turned out to matter more than anybody at Michelob ULTRA Arena expected. With 17.9 seconds left and Las Vegas up 98-95, A'ja Wilson looked like she had lost the ball out of bounds. The call went against the Liberty anyway, there was nothing left to appeal with, and Jackie Young spent the next several seconds turning the game into a free-throw contest with one entrant.

Las Vegas won 104-99 on Thursday night behind Wilson's 33 points and 10 rebounds and Young's 29 points and nine assists. For the Aces, who had lost to this same team twice in the span of a week back in June, it was a small and satisfying bit of housekeeping.

Young Lit the Fuse

Young set the tone almost immediately. Three 3-pointers in the opening minutes gave Las Vegas a 14-12 lead, and she finished the first quarter with 15 points, her best scoring quarter of the season according to the team. An 8-0 Aces burst made it 27-20 before New York closed the period with six straight to get back within 27-26.

The Liberty tied it at 34 early in the second, and Chelsea Gray answered with a 26-foot 3 that put the Aces ahead for good. It was never comfortable until the end of the half, when Las Vegas scored the last six points for a 52-44 lead. Young had 22 by then, a career high for her in any first half, on 7-of-9 shooting.

New York's answer in the third was Pauline Astier, who scored eight of the Liberty's first 10 points, and Breanna Stewart, whose basket in the lane early in the period moved her past Candace Parker into 10th on the WNBA's career scoring list. The Liberty got within 62-61 before the Aces scored eight straight, and it was 78-71 after three.

Then things got loud. After three Las Vegas free throws to open the fourth, New York went on an 11-2 run, with Stewart scoring three of those baskets, to make it 83-82 with about seven minutes left. Han Xu's 3 had it 88-87 with 5:50 to go. Gray steadied the Aces with a floater and a 25-foot 3, Brianna Turner sneaked in a layup, and it was 95-87 at the 3:30 mark. New York still wasn't done. Six straight points, the last two on a Stewart bucket, made it 95-93 with 1:10 left.

Wilson's Answer

The turning point came on the next trip. Up two with the crowd holding its breath, Wilson drove, scored through contact and made the free throw for a 98-93 lead with 55.5 seconds left. Sabrina Ionescu got two back at the line, which set up the disputed possession and Young's closing act.

Young hit both ends of two trips in barely a second, with a steal in between, and made two more at the 6.0-second mark. That's 6 for 6 when it mattered, from a player who finished 12 of 12 for the night. Astier's basket at the end was for the box score only.

The Big Two and the Rest

Wilson's 33 came on 11-of-22 shooting and 10 of 11 at the line, with 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks to go with it. The Aces say that tied Parker for the most games with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, at seven apiece, and raised her all-time-leading total of 30-point double-doubles to 31. Stewart is second on that list with 17. She had 18 of her points in the third quarter alone, when Las Vegas needed someone to hold the door shut.

Young needed only 11 shots to get her 29, making seven of them, including 3 of 5 from deep. The team says her 12 made free throws set a career high. Gray added 16 on 4-of-6 from 3 before fouling out in the closing seconds, a small price for that fourth-quarter stretch.

Stewart was superb for New York, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three steals, and she now has 6,588 career points. Astier had 19 on 8-of-12 shooting, Ionescu scored 15 with five assists, and Rebecca Allen made 5 of 6 for 13. The Liberty needed more from Jonquel Jones, the 2026 All-Star Game MVP, who had eight points on 2-of-11 shooting and five fouls.

Stats That Matter

• 13 of 28: The Aces from 3-point range, against 8 of 22 for New York.
• 25 of 27: Las Vegas at the line, a season-best 92.6% according to the team.
• 50-34: New York's edge in the paint, which kept it alive all night.
• 34-26: The Liberty's rebounding advantage, including 8-3 on the offensive glass.
• 6 for 6: Young at the line in the final 16 seconds.

What It Means

Las Vegas improved to 20-8, 9-5 at home, with a second straight win. It was also a measure of revenge: New York had beaten the Aces 87-76 on June 23 and again 93-85 for the Commissioner's Cup title on June 30. The team reports a 60th consecutive sellout at home. Next comes a trip to Chicago on Saturday to open a five-game road swing.

New York slid to 16-13, 8-8 on the road, and our recount confirms this ended a three-game winning streak. That run included a 113-109 win at Los Angeles on Tuesday, when the Liberty posted their best numbers of the year in points, field goals and 3-pointers. They'll try to start a new one at Phoenix on Saturday.

The House Always Wins

Every cliché about Las Vegas is a cliché because it keeps being true. The Liberty showed up with a 50-point night in the paint, a star climbing the all-time list and a one-possession game inside the final 90 seconds. Then they ran out of chips at the exact moment they needed one more challenge, and the Aces cashed out from the foul line. The Aces call their building The House for a reason.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Additional context from the Associated Press and the Las Vegas Aces.