The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces beat the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury 90-88 in a Game 3 that went down to the wire in Phoenix, and the Aces are now one game away from winning the 2025 WNBA title.
A’ja Wilson made history as the first player in WNBA Finals history with consecutive games of 25 points and 10 rebounds. She finished the night with 34 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks, including the bucket that sealed the Aces’ win.
Satou Sabally exited the game late in the fourth quarter after a head injury.
The best-of-seven series remains in Phoenix for Game 4 on Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), when the Aces will attempt to sweep the Mercury for their third championship in four years.
Here is everything that happened in Game 3.
Recap everything that happened during the game
How the Aces won
Leave it to A’ja Wilson. The four-time MVP, who is quickly becoming the greatest player in WNBA Finals history, made the game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left — saving 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 drew up a play for Wilson at the elbow. Single-covered most of the night, Wilson beat a double-team with a 7-foot turnaround jump shot. After DeWanna Bonner’s miss at the buzzer, the Aces are one game away from a third title in four years.
Wilson was the Las Vegas answer all night. She finished with 34 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. It’s her ninth career 30-point game in the playoffs and her fourth this postseason. Both are the most all time.
As great as Wilson was, she had help. Jackie Young played a complete game with 21 points and 9 assists. She and Wilson combined to score or assist on 72 points, tied for fifth most by a duo in WNBA Finals history.
Jewell Loyd’s four first-quarter 3-pointers got the Aces off to a good start and helped quiet a feverish Phoenix crowd. Loyd finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
The Aces won despite being outscored 29-14 in the fourth quarter. The defense that had dominated the entire third quarter — holding the Mercury to 16 points — fell apart in the fourth under the weight of some foul trouble and improved shooting from Phoenix. But Megan Gustafson made a stop on an Alyssa Thomas layup attempt with 19 seconds to play and the score tied, setting the stage for Wilson’s heroics.
0:26
A’ja Wilson gets it done on both sides of the ball
A’ja Wilson drains a bucket then comes away with a block on the defensive side of the ball.
How the Mercury lost
By digging themselves into too big of a hole. Sure, they were able to erase their third-quarter 17-point deficit, but their problems defensively on the perimeter — allowing nine first-half Aces 3-pointers — and inability to contain Wilson did the Mercury in.
0:38
DeWanna Bonner misses game-tying shot at the buzzer
DeWanna Bonner shot bounces off the rim as she misses a potentially game-tying jumper as time expires.
Coach Nate Tibbetts tried a different defensive strategy to open the game, employing Thomas to guard Chelsea Gray in hopes of disrupting Las Vegas’ rhythm, but it didn’t work. The Mercury allowed 55 first-half points, the most they have given up in a half this postseason.
The rally was led by Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner, with the two veterans combining to score 20 of those 29 points in the final 10 minutes. Copper scored 11 straight Phoenix points at one point in the fourth quarter while Bonner tied the score twice in the final 1:41 — once on a 3-pointer and again on two free throws. Bonner led the Mercury with 25 points.
Satou Sabally had 24 points but left the game with 4:26 left to play after her head collided with Kierstan Bell’s leg, with Sabally falling to the floor. She needed considerable help to get to the locker room. Her status will be something to watch for Game 4.
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Satou Sabally leaves the game after suffering an apparent head injury
Satou Sabally heads to the locker room in the fourth quarter after suffering an apparent head injury.
What could decide Game 4?
Phoenix’s ability to find a defensive answer.
Hammon primarily used a lineup of shooters surrounding Wilson, preventing the kind of double-teams that are needed to slow down the four-time MVP. Those shooters dominated the early part of the game — and Wilson dominated the rest.
The answers for Tibbetts aren’t easy, but the Mercury did find something. After the Aces’ blistering first-half performance with those nine 3s — seven of which were uncontested — on 56.3% shooting, they didn’t make a 3-pointer in the second half.
Wilson appears too good to slow down. This 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 with consecutive games of 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Tibbetts is also 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 pushed — going zone in Game 1, turning Young loose in Game 2, dialing up that final play for Wilson in Game 3 — has worked.
Tibbetts has two days to devise yet another defensive strategy that might work against an Aces team that so far has had all the answers.
