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

LAS VEGAS (AP) – A’ja Wilson and Dana Evans each scored 21 points, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night.

Wilson scored 12 of her 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.

Evans led an Aces bench that outscored the Mercury’s reserves 41-16. 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.