A’ja Wilson outlines the key to Aces’ Fever blowout in historic night.
The Las Vegas Aces emerged from the locker room on Tuesday with an incredible enthusiasm for their game against the Indiana Fever. More than 20,000 fans from Iowa, Indiana, and Sin City cheered in anticipation of the long-awaited matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and the Indiana Fever. Ultimately, the Aces won 88-69 over Indiana.
“We have tremendous fans, it was an amazing environment, and I’m grateful that we won,” Kelsey Plum stated in the Aces vs. Fever post-game press conference.
Plum delivered that “Dawg” intensity out of the gate, scoring 34 points to lead the Aces in scoring. Her fury, the team’s cohesiveness, and a true defensive flow all helped the back-to-back champs extend their winning streak to five games. If anyone questioned if the Aces could complete the three-peat, Las Vegas reminded Indiana and the doubters that they are the team to beat.
“It’s just been a more focused, purposeful, attention to detail,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said in the postgame press conference. “I’m not giving them anything we haven’t done before, it’s not different verbiage, it’s just a matter of buckling down.”
“We made them uncomfortable,” Aces star A’ja Wilson said in the postgame press conference. “Nobody likes to be uncomfortable, especially on the court.”
Las Vegas sets the record straight.
The Aces performed in front of a crowd of 20,366. It is the WNBA’s largest regular-season crowd since 1999, as well as the fifth-highest attendance in the league’s history.
There are many eyes on us now. Vegas has been turning up for the last two or three years. “So I’m not surprised,” Hammon said following Tuesday’s victory over the fever.
T-Mobile Arena may be a more suitable venue for the Las Vegas champions. The venue has a capacity of approximately 6,000 more people than Michelob Ultra venue, where the Aces play at home.
Las Vegas has already sold out all of its home games this season. They are the first to complete it in the history of the W. Tuesday night’s games rank eighth in the WNBA’s top ten attendance figures.
The enthusiasm of the fans was palpable on the court. Las Vegas led for the majority of the night, with neither the defense nor the offense slowing down. The result comes just after four Aces players were named to the All-Star roster. Wilson and Plum will join Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray.
The dog was out.
Plum came into the contest with 2,968 career points. But she didn’t stay there. She scored her 3,000th point on an eight-inch driving folate with less than five minutes remaining in the game. She’d been going for it since the game began.
“Our top screener is Kelsey Plum. “She lays people out,” Hammon remarked during the postgame press conference. “Every night, it will be someone different. Tonight, it is KP.”
Plum scored 34 points, including six three-pointers, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Tuesday’s game marked her first 30-point performance of the season. Chelsea “The POint Gawd” Gray’s revival has allowed The Dawg to return to what she does best. Hammon stated that her ball handling and reading abilities made her a difficult player to guard.
“When you can shoot it like she can, and she’s fast,” Hammon remarked after the game on Tuesday. “She is quite difficult to guard in that regard. I felt she did an excellent job of simply taking good shots and making sound basketball decisions.
Mudita – Aces “It’s just us”
Whatever defense principles Hammon has been preaching appear to have stuck, as the squad is gaining momentum both on offense and defense.
“We just took what the defense gave us throughout the game, and teammates kept finding us. So, we kind of used this game to come back to ourselves,” Wilson stated in the postgame press conference.
From Kiah Stokes’ incredible 12 rebounds to Chelsea Gray’s return to assist move the ball, Tuesday night’s game against the Fever showcased a team in sync. Following the Ace’s victory over the Sun, Hammon emphasized in the post-game conference the team’s spirit: Mudita.
“I told them they’ve gotta have Mudita,” Hammon stated in the Sun’s post-game press conference.
Mudita is a Sanskrit term that means appreciating joy for others. It’s what the back-to-back champions did on the court and in practice that has led to their victories.
The squad added the block party to their defensive strategy. Wilson, who finished second in scoring to Plum with 28 points, added five blocks and two steals. Jackie Young recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds. The defense was the key aspect in Tuesday’s victory over the Fever.
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