‘Took care of business’: Aces bounce back with big win over Wings

Becky Hammon had a lot of bad film to show her team after Sunday’s disappointing loss to the New York Liberty.

After Tuesday, however, the Aces coach said she’ll have just as many good clips for the team heading back to Las Vegas.

The Aces were looking for a response coming off a 38-point loss against the Liberty. They found it against the Dallas Wings, leading wire-to-wire for a 104-84 victory Tuesday in one of their most dominant performances of the season.

“I’m not surprised at the way they came out tonight,” Hammon said. “They were focused, especially on the defensive end. They just came out and took care of business.”

The Aces (25-3) bounced back with a vengeance, rolling past the Dallas Wings (15-14) at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The victory secures a 3-1 regular-season series win against the Wings.

Reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in just 24 minutes, becoming the first player in WNBA history to register at least 25 points and 14 rebounds in less than 25 minutes, according to Across the Timeline.

She also became the fifth player to outscore her age on her birthday, as she turned 27 on Tuesday.

All-Star guard Kelsey Plum added 20 points and eight assists and went 4-for-9 from 3 for the Aces. All-Star guard Chelsea Gray had 16 points on 66.7 percent shooting and was a game-best plus-37 in just under 22 minutes.

The Aces shot 50 percent from 3 and 50 percent from the floor.

“Whenever we get stops, we’re able to play out of our defense and get easy buckets in transition,” said All-Star Jackie Young, who scored 18 points.

Dallas was led by All-Star wing Satou Sabally, who had 21 points, and reserve forward Kalani Brown, who had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Wings. Dallas only had 26 points at halftime.

The Aces return to Michelob Ultra Arena at 7 p.m. Friday to face the Washington Mystics.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. First-quarter zone

The Aces opened the game playing zone defense. To say it was effective is a bit of an understatement.

Dallas went 0-for-8 to start the game, and didn’t make its first field goal until the 4:25 mark in the first quarter, when Sabally hit a corner 3. The Aces had already scored 16 points.

Wilson said it’s the most zone the team has played all season, but added that it’s proof of the Aces’ defensive versatility.

“When we’re really locked in, we’re pretty hard to maneuver through,” Wilson said. “It was a lot of fun.”

2. Rebounding

The rebounding disparity was a large factor in the Aces’ 99-61 loss to the Liberty. Hammon’s team faced a similarly difficult matchup against the Wings, one of the biggest teams in the league thanks to Brown and starting center Teaira McCowan, both listed at 6 feet, 7 inches.

Instead, the Aces dominated the paint. They outrebounded Dallas 45-30, as Wilson and starting center Kiah Stokes reached double figures. The Wings, who averaged 15 second-chance points per game entering Tuesday, finished with just five against the Aces.

Hammon said rebounding was a point of emphasis entering the game.

“When I challenge them basically — and I challenged them today — 19 out of 20 times, they step up,” Hammon said.

3. Wilson injury scare

Late in the third quarter, Wilson landed awkwardly while going for rebound. She limped off and did not return with the game well in hand.

It’s the second consecutive game in which Wilson has been forced to exit. She took an errant elbow to the head from New York forward Jonquel Jones on Sunday, though she eventually returned.

Wilson said she feels fine and expects to play Friday.

“I work in the offseason to make sure my body is ready for pretty much anything the league can throw at me,” she said. “It was just a funky landing. We’re good. I should be good.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.