Chelsea Gray turned the Aces’ first game against the Portland Fire into a record night.
Gray tied the WNBA single-game record with nine 3-pointers Thursday, finishing 9-for-13 from deep as Las Vegas beat Portland 105-89 in Commissioner’s Cup play at Moda Center.
Gray finished with 29 points, five rebounds and three assists. She tied the league record and matched the Aces franchise record set by Kelsey Plum in 2022.
A’ja Wilson added 32 points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. Jackie Young had 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, while NaLyssa Smith added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Aces improved to 9-3 and won their fifth straight game. They also scored at least 100 points for the second straight game after beating Seattle 101-91 on Monday.
Portland dropped to 6-8 and lost its fourth straight game.
Gray catches fire
Gray did not need long to find her rhythm.
She hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter, then kept finding space as the Aces adjusted to Portland’s pressure and changing looks. She made five 3s by halftime and kept climbing after the break.
By the fourth quarter, Gray was chasing history.
She hit her eighth 3-pointer with 4:15 left, pushing Las Vegas ahead 95-79. Then she tied the WNBA record with another 3 at the 2:37 mark, giving the Aces a 101-86 lead.
Gray became the sixth player to make nine 3-pointers in a WNBA game, joining Kelsey Mitchell, Plum, Jewell Loyd, Arike Ogunbowale and Rhyne Howard. Howard has reached the mark twice.
After the game, Gray said the record came from trusting her work and letting the offense find her.
“I had a couple games there where I was like, ‘OK, I’m making them in practice,’ but just trusting the work,” Gray said. “I hit a couple early, and it just felt good.”
Gray said her teammates kept creating the right looks.
“Teammates were finding me,” Gray said. “Some of them were O-board kickouts, and some of them were just good-to-great. I was in the right spot at the right time.”
Aces answer Portland’s pressure
Portland made Las Vegas work early.
The Fire led 28-27 after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 44-38 midway through the second. Portland’s full-court pressure and pace gave the Aces some problems, but Las Vegas settled in before halftime.
Gray hit a 3-pointer to pull the Aces within one, then hit another to put Las Vegas ahead 50-48 late in the second quarter. Young and Wilson helped close the half, and the Aces took a 56-50 lead into the break.
Wilson helped Las Vegas create more separation in the third. She scored inside, got to the line and hit a 3-pointer as the Aces pushed their lead to 70-54.
Portland cut the deficit to six by the end of the third, but Las Vegas answered again in the fourth.
Hammon expected a fight
Before the game, Aces coach Becky Hammon said Portland would test Las Vegas for the full night.
“Tonight, I think it’s going to take a full 40 with this team because they compete really hard for 40 minutes,” Hammon said. “This Portland team’s really thirsty for a win, so they’re going to come out scrapping.”
The Fire did that for long stretches.
Carla Leite led Portland with 18 points and eight assists. Megan Gustafson, facing the Aces for the first time with the expansion Fire, scored 17 points. Sarah Ashlee Barker added 14 points and four assists, while Bridget Carleton scored 13.
Portland shot 53 percent from the field and scored 54 points in the paint, but the Aces controlled the glass and the 3-point line.
Las Vegas outrebounded Portland 42-19 and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. The Aces also went 14-for-28 from 3-point range, while Portland finished 8-for-26.
A full lineup night
The Aces got production from across the starting lineup.
Wilson scored at least 30 for the second straight game. Gray had the record night from deep. Young finished one rebound short of a triple-double. Smith posted a double-double. Talbot had eight points and 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards.
Wilson said games like this matter for a group still trying to build chemistry.
“For us to start clicking right now somewhat, I think it’s a good thing,” Wilson said. “But also, we’re still learning. We’re still getting our chemistry back together.”
Wilson said she was especially pleased with the Aces’ ability to adjust against a Portland team that showed different looks.
“I was just more pleased with us really adapting and adjusting on the fly,” Wilson said. “That’s something that we struggled with in games in the past.”
Cup race tightens at the top
The win continued the Aces’ unbeaten start in Commissioner’s Cup play.
Las Vegas has opened Cup play with wins over Los Angeles, Golden State, Seattle and Portland. Each Cup win generates $3,000 for the Public Education Foundation, the Aces’ nonprofit partner for this year’s competition.
The Aces are 4-0 in Commissioner’s Cup play, tied with Minnesota atop the Western Conference Cup standings. The Lynx also are 4-0 and hold the point differential edge, +81 to +41.
That makes Saturday’s matchup even bigger.
The Aces return home for another Commissioner’s Cup game against Minnesota at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
