An All-Star performance by A’ja Wilson gave the Las Vegas Aces their first three-game winning streak of the season, as they beat the visiting Atlanta Dream 87-72 on Tuesday.
Wilson, fresh off her seventh All-Star Game appearance, led the Aces (12-11) with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Dana Evans added 14 points off the bench and Jackie Young contributed 14 points and seven assists in the victory.
Allisha Gray carried the offensive load for the Dream (13-10) with 24 points and five 3-pointers. Jordin Canada logged 12 points and six assists as Atlanta took its third loss in four games.
After the Aces trailed by seven points after the first quarter, Las Vegas surged to a 16-2 run at the start of the second and never looked back.
Las Vegas increased the lead up to 14 points with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter on a basket from Jewell Loyd and held back an Atlanta side that tried making adjustments all night.
In the second quarter, the Dream went to their inside duo of Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner, but the Aces began double-teaming anyone who received a pass in the paint. That attention held the two to only five combined first-half points on 2-of-7 shooting.
When Atlanta abandoned the halfcourt game for transition attempts, the Aces forced turnovers, which hampered the Dream all night.
Atlanta started the night with the league’s lowest turnover rate per game at 11.8 but committed 19 turnovers on Tuesday, resulting in 24 points for Las Vegas.
Gray scored 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in the first quarter, getting Atlanta off to a strong start.
The Dream needed Gray to play through the undisclosed illness with fellow All-Star Rhyne Howard out until at least the beginning of August with a leg injury.
Atlanta returns to action Wednesday against the Phoenix Mercury, where Griner returns for her first game vs. her former team. Griner spent 11 seasons in Phoenix before signing with the Dream in the offseason.
Las Vegas will visit the Indiana Fever on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
