Fever vs Aces: Las Vegas wins Game 3 94-83 behind A'ja Wilson's 36 and ends Indiana's season
Indiana won the paint and the offensive glass, but the Aces made 28 free throws to the Fever's 14 in an 11-point game. Las Vegas is now the title favorite at +160.
The Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 94-83 on Thursday night at Michelob Ultra Arena to win their first-round WNBA playoff series 2-1. A'ja Wilson scored 36 points with 10 rebounds, and the No. 3 seed Aces reached the semifinals for the eighth straight season, ESPN reported. For the No. 6 seed Fever, it is the end of a season in which they had the highest-scoring offense in league history.
That is why "Fever vs Aces" is one of the most-searched phrases in the US today, at roughly 200,000 searches in the past day.
How Game 3 went
The first quarter ended tied 31-31, with Caitlin Clark scoring 11 of her 18 points in it. Las Vegas won the second quarter 23-17 and led for 71% of the game, according to the ESPN box score. Indiana cut it to two inside the final three minutes on a Kelsey Mitchell 3-pointer, but Mitchell then missed a shot and was called for a loose-ball foul. The Fever challenged the call and lost, and the Aces pulled away.
Aces coach Becky Hammon lost starting forward Stephanie Talbot to a leg injury before the game and leaned on her stars. Chelsea Gray (23 points) and Jackie Young (18 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) both played all 40 minutes. Jewell Loyd moved into the starting lineup and added 11.
For Indiana, Mitchell had 23 points, Aliyah Boston 19 with 10 rebounds, Clark 18 with 4 assists and 6 turnovers, and Myisha Hines-Allen 12 points with 12 rebounds.
The number behind the score: the free-throw line
Read the box score and the Fever did several of the things that usually win playoff games. They outscored Las Vegas 36-22 in the paint, grabbed 9 offensive rebounds to the Aces' 2, and matched them at 10 turnovers each. They lost anyway, and the gap is almost entirely at the line.
| Team stat | Aces | Fever |
|---|---|---|
| Free throws | 28 of 35 | 14 of 20 |
| Personal fouls | 19 | 27 |
| Field goals | 29 of 64 (45%) | 30 of 78 (38%) |
| 3-pointers | 8 of 20 (40%) | 9 of 32 (28%) |
| Points in the paint | 22 | 36 |
| Offensive rebounds | 2 | 9 |
Indiana actually made one more field goal and one more 3-pointer than Las Vegas. The Aces scored 14 more points from the free-throw line in a game they won by 11. Wilson alone went 12 of 15, nearly matching Indiana's whole team. The Fever committed 27 fouls, and Clark and Hines-Allen each finished with five.
The other half of the story is shot quality. Mitchell and Clark, the highest-scoring duo in league history, combined to shoot 13 of 41, and 6 of 23 from three. Indiana took 78 shots to Las Vegas's 64 and needed every extra possession its rebounding bought just to stay close.
What the betting market said, and says now
The result went roughly the way the market expected. DraftKings had Las Vegas as a 4.5-point favorite before tip-off, with the Aces at -198 on the moneyline and the Fever at +164, according to the line posted on ESPN's game page. Converted to percentages (our arithmetic, before removing the bookmaker's margin), that is about 66% for Las Vegas and 38% for Indiana.
The Aces are now the favorite for the title at +160 at DraftKings, ESPN Bet reported on Friday, ahead of the Atlanta Dream (+240), Golden State Valkyries (+390), New York Liberty (+450) and Dallas Wings (70-1). In implied terms that is about 38% for Las Vegas, 29% for Atlanta, 20% for Golden State and 18% for New York. Wilson is +175 to be Finals MVP.
The part that matters to the books: Indiana was a heavy liability. When the playoffs began, ESPN reported the Fever drew about a quarter of the title-futures money at DraftKings, as we noted in our regular-season finale story. With Indiana out, ESPN said sportsbooks are likely relieved.
What comes next
Las Vegas waits for the winner of Friday night's Game 3 between the No. 2 Valkyries and the No. 7 Wings. If Golden State wins, the best-of-five semifinal opens in San Francisco; if Dallas wins, the Aces host Games 1 and 2. The Aces are chasing a fourth title, which would tie the league record.
For Indiana, the offseason question is Mitchell. She set single-season records for points (1,086) and 3-pointers (135) and is now an unrestricted free agent, ESPN reported in its postgame story. Clark averaged 22.3 points and 8.3 assists in the regular season. "You've got to give credit to the Aces," she said after the game. "That's what championship teams do."
Tonight's games, lines and win probabilities are on our scores board.
Sources: ESPN, ESPN, ESPN box score (with DraftKings pregame line), ESPN Bet (DraftKings futures). Search volume from Google Trends. Implied percentages are calculated by The Company Chronicle from the published lines. This is information, not betting advice.
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