Aces vs. Mystics: A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young Score 51 as Las Vegas Ends Washington's Seven-Game Win Streak

Washington walked into Michelob ULTRA Arena on Tuesday night holding a seven-game parlay, and Las Vegas did what Las Vegas tends to do with those. The house was also in a foul mood, having lost by 40 in Brooklyn two days earlier.

A'ja Wilson finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, Jackie Young had 25 points and eight assists without a single turnover, and Las Vegas beat the Washington Mystics 86-76. It was Washington's first loss since July 18, and the Aces needed nearly all of the night to hand it over.

Ten Lead Changes and a Tied Halftime

The first quarter played like a game of hot potato. Washington scored nine straight to turn a 5-2 deficit into an 11-5 lead. Las Vegas answered with eight in a row. Then Young took over, powering a 9-0 burst that made it 22-15, and her 3 with 2:25 left in the period was the 4,000th point of her career. She had 13 in the quarter, and the Aces led 22-19.

Washington's reply arrived in the second. Down 24-19, the Mystics ran off nine straight for a 28-24 lead, and nobody could get loose after that. The game was tied at 41 at halftime, the fifth tie of the quarter, according to the Aces.

Las Vegas took the lead for good at 43-42 with 9:22 left in the third and worked the margin up to 63-54. Then Washington scored the last six points of the period, and at 63-60 heading to the fourth, the streak looked very much alive.

The Turning Point: Three Minutes to Open the Fourth

The Aces outscored Washington 8-2 over the first three minutes of the final quarter to reach 71-62, and NaLyssa Smith's layup with 5:32 left made it 73-63, the first double-digit lead of the night for either team.

The Mystics never fully went away. They got back to 77-71 on a Shakira Austin layup with 2:46 left, and for a moment it looked like one more run might be available. But Young made two free throws, Jewell Loyd scored off a Chelsea Gray pass, and Young converted a three-point play at 1:05 for an 84-71 lead, the largest of the game. Washington shot 5 of 16 in the fourth, its worst quarter of the night, per the Aces.

Wilson and Young Split the Work

Wilson scored 18 of her 26 after halftime, leading everyone with nine in both the third and the fourth. The AP counts it as her 17th double-double this season, and the Aces say it was her league-leading 12th career game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. She did commit five turnovers, which is about the only thing you can write down against her.

Young had the sort of box score that looks fake. She went 4 of 9 from deep and 7 of 7 at the line, with eight assists and no turnovers. According to the Aces, she is the eighth player in league history with at least 25 points, eight assists and zero turnovers in a game, and nobody has done it twice. The AP added another one: only six players in WNBA history have reached at least 4,000 points and 1,000 assists faster.

Gray added 12 points and five assists, and Smith posted 11 points and 11 rebounds, five of them offensive. Mai Yamamoto had just three points but came up with three steals in 13 minutes.

Washington's numbers were honest ones. Austin scored 20 but needed 21 shots. Sonia Citron had 19 points and seven rebounds. Kiki Iriafen had 15 points and 13 rebounds, five of them offensive, while missing five of her eight free throws. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored six in her Washington debut, and Georgia Amoore had four assists but went scoreless on three shots. Then there was Angela Dugalic, who played one minute, scored five points and hit a 28-footer with 13.7 seconds left, giving her the best points-per-minute rate of anyone in Nevada that night.

Stats That Matter

• 26-8: Points off turnovers, Las Vegas' way. Washington gave it away 16 times, the Aces only eight.
• 9 of 23 vs. 5 of 18: 3-point shooting, a 12-point swing in a 10-point game.
• 17 of 34, then 12 of 34: Washington's shooting by half, per the Aces, with just 2 of 12 from deep after the break.
• 42-28: The Mystics' advantage in the paint, their ninth straight game with 40-plus points there, per the AP. They also won the boards 41-30, and neither one saved them.
• 0: Young's turnovers, in 32 minutes with the ball in her hands.

What It Means

Las Vegas moved to 23-11 overall and 10-5 at home, ending a two-game skid that included a 98-87 loss at Minnesota and that 111-71 mess at New York. Those two results made Tuesday feel bigger than a midseason home game usually does, and the Aces responded by protecting the ball and letting their two best players go to work.

Washington fell to 19-13, including 8-7 on the road. Its last loss had come against Golden State on July 18, and the seven wins since then included a 100-99 decision over these same Aces on July 22. The Mystics still walk out of this looking like a problem, because a team that wins the rebounding and paint battles this comfortably usually does not lose by 10.

Nobody has to wait long for the rematch. The same two teams meet again on Thursday in the same building, where the Aces just logged their 61st straight sellout, according to the team.

Final Word

Las Vegas is the residency capital of the world, and Wilson and Young just played the kind of night that gets extended. Washington bought a ticket expecting to watch a streak reach eight and got a 51-point double bill instead. The good news for the Mystics is that the show runs again on Thursday. The bad news is that they have already seen how this one ends.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Records and milestones as reported by the Associated Press and the Las Vegas Aces.