The Las Vegas Aces played without A’ja Wilson for the second straight game. Then they found a different way home.
NaLyssa Smith carried the interior work, Chelsea Gray delivered late and Las Vegas beat the Chicago Sky 98-90 in overtime Friday at T-Mobile Arena. The win moved the Aces into a tie with Minnesota after the Lynx lost earlier in the day.
Glass start
The Aces started with the right edge and finished the first quarter up 22-19.
Las Vegas opened 8-2 as Chicago turned the ball over and missed chances near the rim. The Aces also finished possessions better than usual on the defensive glass, holding the Sky without an offensive rebound in the quarter.
Chicago still settled in as Las Vegas cooled off. The Sky tied it at 17 late, but Jewell Loyd answered with a 3 and led the Aces with nine first-quarter points. Smith added seven points and three rebounds, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus helped close the quarter with a block as Las Vegas played again without Wilson.
Smith lift
The Aces answered the first real push and took a 49-37 lead into halftime.
Chicago tied the game at 24 early in the second, forcing a Las Vegas timeout. From there, the Aces steadied behind Smith and Loyd, who carried the cleanest offense with Wilson out.
Smith did the heavier interior work, scoring 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting with four rebounds. Loyd added 12 points, three assists, two steals and a block, while Las Vegas forced 10 Chicago turnovers and built a 12-point halftime cushion.
Lead squeezed
The Aces carried the lead into the fourth, but Chicago made them work for it.
Smith kept giving Las Vegas the interior answer it needed without Wilson, reaching 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting by the end of the third. She scored through contact, ran into open space and helped the Aces stay ahead while Chicago kept attacking.
Still, the Sky cut a 14-point deficit to one late in the quarter. Jackie Young answered with a midrange bucket, then Loyd found rhythm without settling for 3s. Loyd hit two pull-ups in the final 1:01, and Parker-Tyus blocked Elizabeth Williams near the rim to help Las Vegas take a 70-64 lead into the fourth.
Late rescue
The Aces led almost all night, then had to save themselves late.
Loyd opened the fourth with a 3 over Kamilla Cardoso, and Las Vegas later pushed the lead to 81-72 after Gray found Young, who wrapped a pass to Smith for an easy finish. But Chicago kept coming. The Sky took their first lead on Natasha Cloud’s 3 with 3:47 left, then stretched it to 86-83 as Las Vegas turned it over too often late.
Smith split two free throws after a loose-ball foul to cut it to 86-84. Then she made the play that forced overtime, going to the floor for a steal before Gray buried a 16-foot jumper with 22.6 seconds left to tie it at 86.
Overtime finish
The Aces made the extra five minutes look cleaner than the final five of regulation.
Parker-Tyus set the tone with a block on Cardoso at the rim on Chicago’s first overtime possession. Then Smith answered inside to tie the game at 88, Young jumped a pass for a steal and layup, and Smith went right at Cardoso again for a soft finish that pushed Las Vegas ahead 92-88.
The next swing came through review. Young was initially called for a foul after taking an elbow to the mouth from Cloud, but the Aces challenged and officials ruled it an offensive foul on Cloud. Gray then beat the shot clock with a fadeaway jumper to make it 94-88 with 48 seconds left.
Gray added another late midrange jumper, and Young hit two free throws with 11.3 seconds left. Smith finished with 29 points and eight rebounds, matching the interior pressure Las Vegas needed without Wilson.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, 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.
