De Las Vegas Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in game 1 of the WNBA final behind a dominant banking performance on Friday evening. Dana Evans scored 21 points and Jewell Loyd added 18 when the reserves of the Aces Phoenix’s Bench 41-16 defeated.
Evans and Loyd became the fifth duo in the history of WNBA Finals to every score of at least 15 points from the bank in the same game. Las Vegas only became the second team in the final history to win with two of the top three scorers from reserve roles.
Bank production turned out to be crucial when starters Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray struggled offensively. Young finished with 10 points on 3-out-13 shooting, while Gray only knew 8 points on 2-out-7 shooting.
Regular season MVP A’ja Wilson posted 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and zero turnover despite the shooting of 7-out-16 from the field. The performance marked the first 20-10-5-0 Stat-line in the history of WNBA Finals.
“We have weapons. We want to use them all because we are more difficult to guard that way,” said the Azencoach Becky Hammon. “Our bank was huge.”
Evans tied the record of RIQUNA Williams 2019 with five 3-Pointers from the bank in a final game. She became the third reserve to lead or lead a final game when scoring.
“Dana is our battery,” said Wilson. “She lets us play at a different pace. I told her that we are going while she is going.”
Las Vegas switched to Zongefensie halfway through the third quarter and kept Phoenix on 1-out-8 shooting in the fourth period. The mercury shot 52% of the floor to three -quarters before the defensive adjustment.
Phoenix missed a critical opportunity when Alyssa Thomas failed on two potential game type free throws with 24.6 seconds. The missed attempts marked the first time in the history of WNBA, a player missed two potential score-typing free throws in the last two minutes of a play-off game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Mercury fell in Game 1’s in game 1 in game 1, but remains 5-0 in all other play-off games.
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