Las Vegas knows its first playoff opponent, and Indiana arrives with more than a lower seed.
The Aces finished the regular season 31-13 and secured the No. 3 seed after beating Phoenix 100-82 Thursday. Golden State rallied past Los Angeles to hold the No. 2 spot, setting up a first-round matchup between Las Vegas and sixth-seeded Indiana.
Game 1 is Sunday, Sept. 27, in Las Vegas. The tipoff time has not yet been announced for this matchup.
Aces coach Becky Hammon said before the regular-season finale that Las Vegas would not spend much energy trying to manipulate its matchup.
“Man, just go out and play great basketball,” Hammon said. “Whoever we play, we play.”
Now it is Indiana.
Familiar first-round opponent
The Fever earned more than passing familiarity with the Aces this season.
Indiana won the regular-season series 2-1, including both meetings in Las Vegas. The Fever won 84-68 on July 5, then returned a week later and beat the Aces 109-75 on July 12.
The first meeting came without A’ja Wilson, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. Indiana still made the most of the opportunity and handed Las Vegas one of its more lopsided home losses of the season.
Las Vegas finally answered Aug. 6 in Indianapolis, and it took overtime to do it.
Chelsea Gray hit a late 3-pointer to force the extra period, then won the game at the buzzer as the Aces escaped with an 86-84 victory. Wilson finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Jackie Young had 22 points and nine assists.
That history gives the first-round series some weight before either team takes the floor.
Indiana has already won twice in Las Vegas. The Aces’ only victory came in one of their tightest finishes of the season.
Aces enter on a run
Las Vegas reaches the postseason in a much different rhythm than it carried into those July losses.
The Aces won their final seven regular-season games, closing the stretch with a 100-82 victory at Phoenix. Wilson scored 34 points in the finale, while Jewell Loyd added a season-high 25.
The win also showed both sides of where Las Vegas stands.
The Aces opened with a 14-0 run and led by as many as 31. Phoenix then opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run and eventually trimmed the margin to 10 in the fourth.
Las Vegas responded and pulled away again.
That fit Hammon’s message before the game.
“We want to finish well,” Hammon said. “We don’t want to be limping across the finish line of the regular season.”
She also made clear that the Aces still see room for improvement.
“We’re certainly not a finished product,” Hammon said. “I still think there are areas we can improve on.”
The playoffs will test that immediately.
Home court belongs to Las Vegas
The first round uses a best-of-three, 1-1-1 format.
Las Vegas will host Game 1. Indiana will host Game 2, and the series would return to Las Vegas for Game 3 if necessary.
That makes the No. 3 seed valuable even after the Aces missed a chance to climb to second.
Golden State finished No. 2 and will face No. 7 Dallas. No. 1 Minnesota draws No. 8 New York, while No. 4 Atlanta meets No. 5 Washington.
The semifinals expand to best-of-five before the WNBA Finals move to a best-of-seven format.
For Las Vegas, those later rounds can wait.
The first task is a Fever team that already proved it can win on the Aces’ floor.
Las Vegas enters the series with seven straight wins and home-court advantage. Indiana enters knowing it won two of the three regular-season meetings.
The matchup is set.
The only remaining detail for Game 1 is the time.
Related stories
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
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.
