No. 2 Las Vegas Ace beat number 4 Phoenix Mercury 90-88 in Game 3, which ended in Phoenix, and the Aces are now one game away from capturing the 2025 WNBA title.
Aja Wilson made history as the first player in WNBA Finals history to record 25 points and 10 rebounds in a row. She finished the night with 34 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks, including the basket that sealed the Aces' victory.
Sato Sabally left the game late in the fourth quarter after suffering a head injury.
The best-of-seven series remains in Phoenix for Game 4 on Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the Aces try to sweep the Mercury for their third championship in four years.
Here's everything that happened in game three.
Remember everything that happened during the game.
How Aces won
Leave it to Aja Wilson. The four-time MVP, who is quickly becoming the greatest player in WNBA Finals history, hit the game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left to save the Aces after they had blown a 17-point lead. With the score tied at 88 with five seconds left, coach Becky Hammon called a timeout and called an elbow on Wilson. After spending most of the evening in single coverage, Wilson beat a double team with a 7-foot turnaround jump shot. After DeWanna BonnerHaving missed the buzzer, the Aces are one game away from a third title in four years.
Wilson was the answer in Las Vegas all night. She finished with 34 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. It was her ninth career 30-point playoff game and fourth in the postseason. Both are the best of all time.
As great as Wilson was, she had help. Jackie Young played a full game with 21 points and 9 assists. Together, he and Wilson scored or assisted 72 points, the fifth-most by a duo in WNBA Finals history.
Jewell LoydFour 3-pointers in the first quarter got the Aces off to a good start and helped calm the feverish Phoenix crowd. Loyd finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
The Aces won despite being down 29-14 in the fourth quarter. The defense, which dominated throughout the third quarter and held the Mercury to 16 points, crumbled in the fourth under the weight of some offense and Phoenix's improving shooting. But Megan Gustafson made a stop at Alyssa Thomas a layup attempt with 19 seconds to play to tie the game, setting the stage for Wilson's heroics.
0:26
Aja Wilson hits both sides of the ball.
Aja Wilson drains the bucket and then blocks the ball on the defensive end.
How Mercury lost
Burying yourself in too big a hole. Sure, they were able to erase their 17-point deficit in the third quarter, but their defensive woes on the perimeter (allowing nine 3-point aces in the first half) and inability to contain Wilson were the Mercury's undoing.
0:38
DeWanna Bonner misses crucial shot at buzzer
DeWanna Bonner's shot bounces off the rim as she misses a potential game-tying shot as time expires.
Coach Nate Tibbetts tried a different defensive strategy to start the game, bringing in Thomas to guard. Chelsea Gray hoping to disrupt the rhythm of Las Vegas, but it didn't work. The Mercury scored 55 points in the first half, the most they have given up in half this postseason.
The rally was led by Potassium Copper And DeWanna Bonnerwith the two veterans combining for 20 of those 29 points in the final 10 minutes. Copper scored 11 straight points for Phoenix with one point in the fourth quarter, while Bonner tied the game twice in the final 1:41 – once with a 3-pointer and again with two free throws. Bonner led the Mercury with 25 points.
Sato Sabally scored 24 points, but left the game with 4:26 left after her head collided with Kierstan Bellfoot, Sabally falls to the floor. She needed a lot of help to get to the locker room. Her status will be interesting to monitor in game four.
1:14
Sato Sabally leaves the game with an apparent head injury.
Sato Sabally heads to the locker room in the fourth quarter after suffering an apparent head injury.
What could Game 4 decide?
Phoenix's ability to find a defensive response.
Hammon primarily used the lineup of shooters surrounding Wilson, preventing the double teams needed to slow down the four-time MVP. These shooters dominated the early part of the game, and Wilson dominated the rest of the game.
The answers aren't easy for Tibbetts, but the Mercury found something. After a stellar first half performance by the Aces with nine 3s (seven of which were uncontested) on 56.3% shooting, they didn't make a 3-pointer in the second half.
Wilson seems too good to slow down. It was also her third career postseason game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, another WNBA record. She is also the first player in Finals history to record 25 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive games.
Tibbetts will also be up against a historically successful coach. Hammon is now 9-2 in WNBA Finals games, the highest winning percentage in league history. So far, every button Hammon has pressed – getting into the zone in Game 1, releasing Young in Game 2, calling Wilson's last play in Game 3 – has worked.
Tibbetts has two days to come up with another defensive strategy that could work against an Aces team that has had all the answers so far.
