Mercury vs. Aces: Alyssa Thomas and Jovana Nogic Wreck Las Vegas' Ring Ceremony Day in a 99-66 Rout

Beyoncé told everybody that if you liked it, you should have put a ring on it. The Las Vegas Aces did exactly that on Saturday, passing out title jewelry with a removable top and each player's name and position in 14-karat white gold, while majority owner Mark Davis told a delighted T-Mobile Arena crowd, "We're back!"

Then the Phoenix Mercury, the team those Aces swept in last season's WNBA Finals, walked out and ruined the reception. Alyssa Thomas scored 20, rookie Jovana Nogic poured in all 19 of her points before halftime, and Phoenix won 99-66 in a game it led from the first bucket to the last. Consider that an RSVP with attitude.

One Quarter of Courtesy, Then Nothing

Thomas got the opening basket at 9:36 of the first, and by the 6:33 mark Phoenix was already up 12-3. Las Vegas found some life with a 7-1 spurt to finish the quarter, which left it at 27-21 and gave the building reason to think the ceremony hangover would pass.

It did not. The Mercury came out of the break on a 14-2 run that pushed the lead to 41-23 with 5:52 on the clock, and the Aces never got closer than 15 the rest of the half. Phoenix hit 4 of 5 from deep in the period while Las Vegas failed to attempt a single free throw. It was 56-35 at intermission.

The third quarter is the part Las Vegas will want scrubbed from the archive. The Aces made 4 of 19 shots, went 1 of 8 from three and scored 10 points in 10 minutes. Phoenix scored 27, closed the period with 14 straight to go from 69-45 to 83-45, and took a 38-point lead into the fourth. The final 10 minutes existed mostly for contractual reasons.

The Rookie Nobody in Vegas Prepared For

Nogic is the part you tell your friends about. By the Mercury's count she'd had two practices with her new teammates, and she started anyway, playing 21 minutes and going 5 of 8 from the field, 4 of 5 from three and 5 of 5 at the line. Her last stop was Russia, per the AP, and she suits up for Serbia's national team. The Mercury note that only two players in history have put up at least 19 in a half of their WNBA debut: Nogic, and Candace Parker, who had 21 in the second half of hers in 2008. That's fairly loud for a first day at work.

"She had an awesome start and I'm really happy for her," head coach Nate Tibbetts said. Nogic gave the vets the assist: "They are such great teammates that they just take the pressure off you."

Thomas, meanwhile, was her usual self, which is to say a logistical problem for every defense on Earth. She finished with 20 points on 9 of 17 shooting, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals and one turnover in 26 minutes, and she never bothered with a 3-point attempt. Natasha Mack added 10 points, 15 rebounds and a game-best plus-34. DeWanna Bonner hit 3 of 4 from deep on her way to 13, Kahleah Copper scored 13 and Kiana Williams had 11, giving Phoenix six players in double figures. Nobody on the roster played more than 28 minutes.

A'ja Wilson did what a four-time MVP does, scoring 19 on 8 of 15 shooting, but she finished minus-22 and the help never arrived. Jackie Young needed 15 shots for 12 points, Chelsea Gray had four and Jewell Loyd six. NaLyssa Smith gave Las Vegas 11 and Chennedy Carter 10, a lot of it after the outcome had stopped being a question.

Four Minutes That Changed the Tone

If you want one stretch, take the start of the second. At 27-21, Las Vegas was trailing but still inside a normal basketball game. Just over four minutes later it was down 18, and the Mercury defense had found its formula: stay physical, don't foul, and make every Aces trip feel like a tax audit. Phoenix was whistled for 10 fouls all day. Las Vegas shot eight free throws. The team that lost to these Aces last October was clearly in no mood to hand out freebies.

The Damage Report

• 33: The final margin, Phoenix's largest since a 95-60 win over Indiana on Aug. 7 and the Aces' worst loss since Minnesota beat them 111-58 on Aug. 3.
• 27-10: The third quarter, when the game stopped being a game.
• 19: Phoenix points off 17 Aces turnovers. Las Vegas managed six off the eight Mercury giveaways.
• 11 of 24: Mercury 3-point shooting, against 4 of 19 for the Aces.
• 0: Lead changes. Las Vegas did not hold a lead at any point.

What a Rout Does and Doesn't Mean

Phoenix is 1-0, 1-0 on the road, and by the team's own math this was the No. 2 margin of Tibbetts' tenure and a tie for fifth-largest in franchise history. There's no time to frame it. The Mercury play at Golden State on Sunday in what they say is their only back-to-back of the season.

Las Vegas is 0-1, 0-1 at home, and heads to Los Angeles on Sunday. Because this one was at T-Mobile Arena, the banner stays in storage until the Aces meet those same Sparks on May 23 at Michelob Ultra Arena, which suddenly feels like a scheduling gift. And some perspective for anyone sprinting to bury a team that has won three of the past four titles: after that 111-58 loss to Minnesota, the Aces closed the regular season on a run of 16 straight wins and eventually collected the rings in question.

Scary Is the Right Word

The detail Phoenix fans should hang on to is that this wasn't even the whole roster. "But we're still missing three pieces, so that's kind of scary to think we came out and played this kind of defense and there's still a lot of room to grow," Thomas said. Scary works. Las Vegas got its rings on Saturday. Phoenix got a partial refund on last year's Finals, delivered in person, with the receipt still warm.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press. Quotes and team notes from the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces.