The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals behind a dominant bench performance Friday night. Dana Evans scored 21 points and Jewell Loyd added 18 as the Aces’ reserves outscored Phoenix’s bench 41-16.
Evans and Loyd became the fifth duo in WNBA Finals history to each score at least 15 points off the bench in the same game. Las Vegas became only the second team in Finals history to win with two of its top three scorers coming from reserve roles.
The bench production proved crucial as starters Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray struggled offensively. Young finished with 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting while Gray managed just 8 points on 2-for-7 shooting.
Regular season MVP A’ja Wilson posted 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and zero turnovers despite shooting 7-for-16 from the field. The performance marked the first 20-10-5-0 stat line in WNBA Finals history.
“We have weapons. We want to use them all because we’re harder to guard that way,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Our bench was huge.”
Evans tied Riquna Williams’ 2019 record with five 3-pointers off the bench in a Finals game. She became the third reserve to lead or co-lead a Finals game in scoring.
“Dana’s our battery,” Wilson said. “She makes us play at a different pace. I told her we go as she goes.”
Las Vegas switched to zone defense midway through the third quarter, holding Phoenix to 1-for-8 shooting in the fourth period. The Mercury shot 52% from the floor through three quarters before the defensive adjustment.
Phoenix missed a critical opportunity when Alyssa Thomas failed on two potential game-tying free throws with 24.6 seconds remaining. The missed attempts marked the first time in WNBA history a player missed two potential score-tying free throws in the final two minutes of a playoff game, per Elias Sports Bureau.
The Mercury fell to 0-3 in Game 1s this postseason but remain 5-0 in all other playoff games.
