Michael Voepel, ESPN editor-in-chief
The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces got 42 points from star A’ja Wilson on Tuesday, the most by a WNBA player in a game this season, but it wasn’t enough as the Aces lost 93-90 to the Dallas Wings.
The loss dropped the Aces to 18-12 and fifth in the standings.
“We didn’t defend, we fouled and we didn’t rebound. And we shot another terrible 3-pointer,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “So it’s a bad combination.”
Las Vegas lost just six games in the regular season and once in the playoffs last year, winning its second straight WNBA title. But even though Wilson is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2024 MVP award (she’s averaging 27.1 points per game, the most in 30 games in league history), the Aces have struggled this year.
Since the WNBA resumed play after the Olympics, the Red Sox are 2-4 and lost their last game before the hiatus. Three of their recent losses have come to New York and Minnesota (twice), which sit first and third in the WNBA standings, respectively. But Tuesday’s loss was to Dallas, which is now 8-22. On Sunday, they needed Wilson’s buzzer-beater to beat Chicago, which is 11-18.
Wilson missed a career-high 20 shots against the Sky, but she was back to her usual efficiency against the Wings, shooting 16 of 22; the other Aces shot 15 of 40. Her 42 points are the most ever by a WNBA player in a regulation (excluding overtime) loss.
“I wish I could shoot perfect every game, but I don’t always,” said Wilson, who is shooting 52 percent this season. “I don’t let a lot of things sit because it takes you out of the moment. I’m going to try to be productive for my team. Today was like that … but we didn’t get the win, so none of that matters.”
Tuesday’s game marked Wilson’s third career 40-point game. Only three other players in WNBA history have three 40-point games or more: Breanna Stewart (4), Diana Taurasi (4) and Maya Moore (3).
Hammon has been concerned about Las Vegas’ defense all season long. He was asked if, with 10 games remaining, the Aces could improve it.
“We can definitely do better, but it’s the attention to detail that counts,” Hammon said. “There are ways to cut (the opponent’s) points just by being disciplined and alert. We couldn’t defend our lunch in the second half.
“At some point, people have to take responsibility. You have to be there in the pick-and-roll. You have to block your man. You have to go help the bigs when they have those big bodies that are crashing down every time. When you know exactly what the other team has to do and you can’t handle it, it’s worrisome.
“I can’t force them to do it. They have to do it. What am I going to do, get them out of there? Everybody I put in there hasn’t bounced back.”
The Aces were out-rebounded 40-26, with Dallas center Teaira McCowan grabbing 17 rebounds. Las Vegas is seventh in the WNBA in rebounding at 34.4 per game. That’s not much of a departure from last season’s 34.8, but the Aces aren’t as efficient offensively this season as they were in 2023, aside from Wilson.
“We have to figure out how to make stops late in the game when it counts, and we didn’t show the ability to hold on to our leads, which is disappointing,” Hammon said. “You have to defend. We’re not good enough offensively this year to give up 93. We didn’t shoot well, we didn’t move the ball well enough.”
Last season, Dallas reached the WNBA semifinals and lost 3-0 to the Aces. Satou Sabally, the WNBA’s Most Improved Player in 2023, was sidelined for the first part of this season as she recovered from a shoulder injury and prepared to play for Germany in the Olympics. Sabally has been a huge boost for the Wings in the five games since returning after the Paris Games, averaging 20.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists. On Tuesday, she had 28, 7 and 5.
Dallas now has two straight wins for the first time since May; the Wings beat Los Angeles 113-110 on Sunday.
