Las Vegas did not need anything complicated Thursday night. It needed its stars, its defense and enough poise to survive one last Indiana push.
A’ja Wilson delivered 36 points and 10 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young steadied the Aces late in a bruising 94-83 Game 3 win at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Las Vegas won the first-round series 2-1 and advanced to the semifinals.
The Aces’ three core veterans combined for 77 points. More importantly, they controlled the closing minutes after Indiana cut a 12-point second-half lead to two.
Wilson answers again
Wilson opened the series with 38 points and 16 rebounds. She closed it with another dominant performance.
The four-time MVP scored 21 points before halftime, then continued pressuring Indiana after the break. She finished 11-of-18 from the field and 12-of-15 at the free throw line.
Two nights earlier, Wilson had been at the center of a tense interaction with a fan in Indiana. By Thursday, she said she had worked to put it behind her.
“I didn’t want that to be a distraction to myself and to my team,” Wilson said. “I knew what we had to do coming into tonight.”
Wilson said she leaned on prayer, emotion and the support around her before returning her focus to basketball.
“Once I put that on the back burner, I had to show up for my team today, and I’m glad we got the win,” she said.
Big three delivers
Aces coach Becky Hammon did not hide what she needed from Wilson, Gray and Young.
“Yes. I needed them to go be the big three that I’ve always known them to be, and they deliver in big moments,” Hammon said.
Gray finished with 23 points and five assists. Young added 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while playing all 40 minutes.
Hammon said Gray produced several of the game’s biggest baskets. That became especially clear in the fourth quarter.
Indiana cut the Aces’ lead to 82-80 with three minutes left after a Kelsey Mitchell 3. Gray answered with two free throws, then buried a pullup jumper with 1:25 remaining to restore a six-point advantage.
Wilson said that was exactly the moment she expected Gray to seize.
“This is Chelsea. These are the moments where she shines the brightest,” Wilson said. “I remember we were heading into a timeout in the fourth, and I was just like, ‘Come alive. Come alive. This is what you do.’”
The Aces closed the game on a 12-3 run after Indiana pulled within two.
Physical from the start
The tension that followed the series into Game 3 surfaced early.
Caitlin Clark and Brianna Turner received double technical fouls with 6:54 left in the first quarter. The sequence came as Indiana gathered near its huddle and Turner moved into the group.
Then, early in the second quarter, Indiana coach Stephanie White received another technical. Gray made the ensuing free throw.
The physical play continued into the fourth. Clark took contact to the mouth and was attended to after bleeding, adding another sharp moment to an elimination game that rarely settled down.
Indiana finished with 27 fouls, while Las Vegas had 19. The teams combined for three technical fouls.
Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark battle for the ball during the second half of Game 3 of the WNBA Playoffs on Oct. 1, 2026, at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Loyd scored 11 points and helped defend Clark as the Aces beat the Fever 94-83 to win the series 2-1 and advance to the semifinals. Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Defense settles in
The first quarter suggested Las Vegas might be in for a long night.
Indiana scored 31 points, and Clark had 11 of them. The Fever repeatedly found early rhythm before the Aces tightened the game.
Indiana scored only 52 points over the final three quarters and shot 38 percent overall. Clark finished with 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting and committed six turnovers.
Mitchell scored 23 points, but needed 23 shots to get there.
“After that first quarter, I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be a long night,’” Hammon said. “But then we settled in, buckled in and had a really great response, especially defensively.”
Indiana had scored 58 points in the paint during Game 2. Las Vegas cut that number to 36 in the deciding game.
“We were much more sturdy individually and collectively,” Hammon said.
Hammon was even more direct about the difference.
“They won it with their defense,” she said.
Next woman up
Las Vegas also had to adjust before the game started.
Stephanie Talbot, who started the first two games of the series, was unable to play because of a leg injury. Hammon said Talbot had been a game-time decision.
Jewell Loyd moved into the starting lineup and finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Hammon said Loyd was one of the primary defenders on Clark.
“She’s Jewell. She’s been in big games. She’s a champion,” Hammon said.
Hammon said Talbot’s availability for the next round remains uncertain, although she hopes the additional rest will help.
The adjustment fit a theme Hammon said has followed Las Vegas throughout the season.
“But yeah, it’s just next woman up,” she said.
Built for the moment
Young’s night showed why Hammon trusted her with every minute.
Her shot was not always there. Young went 5-of-13 from the field, but she still finished with eight rebounds and seven assists while handling another demanding defensive assignment.
Young said the goal was to affect the game regardless of whether shots fell.
“Still impacting the game in any way I can,” Young said. “At the same time, knowing that even if my shot isn’t falling, I can still play hard, show up, give a lot of effort, especially on the defensive end.”
Hammon said Young is equipped for that workload.
“She’s just built for these moments,” Hammon said. “Physically built, mentally built, emotionally built for these moments.”
Now the Aces get a chance to recover.
Las Vegas will face the winner of the Golden State-Dallas series in the semifinals. Hammon said rest and recovery come first after a physical three-game series.
“This was a grind,” Hammon said. “It’s never easy. It’s not going to get easier with either team we face.”
Up next
The Aces will open the semifinals Sunday against the winner of Friday’s Game 3 between Golden State and Dallas. If Golden State advances, Las Vegas will open the series on the road. If Dallas wins, the Aces will host Game 1.
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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.
