PHOENIX — A’ja Wilson made a turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds left, capping a stellar 34-point night and lifting the Las Vegas Aces over the Phoenix Mercury 90-88 on Wednesday night for a 3-0 lead in the WNBA Finals.
The Aces are one victory away from winning their third title in four seasons. Game 4 is Friday in Phoenix.
The Aces had what looked like a comfortable 76-59 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Mercury closed the gap to 84-83 with 3:06 left on Kahleah Copper’s 3-pointer. DeWanna Bonner tied the game at 86 on a 3-pointer with 1:33 left and made two free throws with 1:01 left to tie it at 88.
That set up Wilson’s heroics in the final seconds. The four-time MVP made her turnaround jumper over Alyssa Thomas and Bonner as the Mercury’s home crowd groaned.
“I just needed the bucket to go in,” Wilson said. “I didn’t see who was in front of me. I didn’t care. It’s the finals.”
The Mercury had one final try to get a bucket, but Bonner’s quick jumper was no good.
The 6-foot-4 Wilson continued her dominant postseason run, making 11 of 20 shots from the field and adding four assists. She is averaging more than 26 points in 11 postseason games. Jackie Young added 21 points.
Wilson’s 291 total points over 11 games is a WNBA postseason record.
The Aces took a 2-0 lead by winning the first two games in Las Vegas, but the Mercury hoped for a boost from their boisterous home crowd in Game 3. Instead, the Aces thrived in the hostile atmosphere, showing the poise of a veteran team that has been in high-pressure situations many times.
Bonner led the Mercury with 25 points while Satou Sabally had 24. Copper scored 11 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter. Thomas was one assist short of a triple-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Sabally left the game with 4:26 left in the fourth quarter when she got tangled with Young and then fell into Kierstan Bell, hitting her head on the side of her leg. Sabally stayed on the ground for several minutes before being helped off the court.
The Aces used a 17-0 run midway through the first quarter to take an early 21-8 lead and never trailed again. Jewell Loyd, a Lincolnwood native and Niles West and Notre Dame graduate, came off the bench and made four 3-pointers in less than two minutes to lead the offensive onslaught.
The Mercury responded with a 13-0 run to tie the game but could never regain the advantage. They trailed 26-23 heading into the second quarter.
The Aces pulled away late in the second quarter to take a 55-43 lead into halftime. They shot 9 of 16 (56.3%) from 3-point range, including a combined six from bench players Loyd and Dana Evans.
Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said his team’s defense needed to improve after it gave up 89 points in Game 1 and 91 in Game 2, but things weren’t any better Wednesday. The Aces used their early 3-point barrage to turn the game into another high-scoring shootout.
