Despite the odds being overwhelmingly against them, the Las Vegas Aces have managed to bounce back, and how. Indiana Fever came nowhere close to taking the series on Tuesday evening, with the A’ja Wilson-led squad winning 90-68 to tie to series, heading into Game 3 on Friday. Upon closer inspection, none of it comes as a surprise as Aces guard Chelsea Gray explained just how motivated they all were.
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The Fever won the first game on Sunday, 89-73, in which Kelsey Mitchell blew up, scoring 34. No one had an answer to her, and everyone, including MVP Wilson, was comprehensively outperformed. Considering the Aces are one of the favorites for the championship, it was a disappointing performance.
Gray, whose defensive performances were lauded by Wilson after the match, admitted that the Aces locker room was unhappy with how they showed up for Game 1.
In an ESPN segment, Gray was asked about the morale in the team after the Fever spoiled Wilson’s MVP party last weekend, and she replied, “Pissed.” It was a frustrating feeling because they knew they were better than how they played. And to lose like that, to a team that’s missing two of its best players to injury [Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham]. was just not done.
“When you do all that work in the regular season, you play for home court, you know, and we gotta take care of our home court. We got it back tonight, but we were just angry with ourselves,” Gray said.
Overall, it was a much better performance from everyone on the Aces. Wilson went off for 25 points with 9 rebounds, with NaLyssa Smith adding 18 points, and Gray getting 10 assists. The 32-year-old was happy with how the offense and defense worked well on the night.
Talking about how the game differed from their outing on Sunday, Gray added, “Defensively, we were just engaged from the start of the game. We didn’t go into these lows. Of course, they’re a good basketball team, they’re gonna go on runs, but how we come back and take a stance …”
“Offensively, we were able to flow, push pace, and everybody working for each other,” the three-time WNBA champ noted.
Above everything, the Aces were physical against the Fever yesterday. It’s something they lacked in Game 1, and the intensity completely changed the moment they decided to amp it up. Was it smart play? Yes. Because physicality is just a part of the game, Gray insisted.
“It’s playoff basketball man. We know it’s gonna be physical. They’re gonna let a lot more things go. Some things were questionable sometimes, but that’s playoff basketball,” she pointed out.
Well, it certainly worked out for them. So who’s complaining?
