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By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
After nine days of rest, the Las Vegas Aces returned to their home court for their first 2021 playoff game in front of about 7,000 fans, including Aces owner Mark Davis who brought Raiders players to cheer on a big Aces win in the Best-of-Five semifinals Game 1 with the Phoenix Mercury Tuesday.
The Aces started slowly, down 9-0, but battled back to defeat Phoenix, 96-90, before an announced crowd of 7,009 fans at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay.
With defending WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson contributing 15 points and nine rebounds, it was the Aces guards who got it done tonight. “As I’ve always said, guards win playoff games. We build our team from outside in,” Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said.
It was a festive and loud crowd, which also included former NBA star Dwayne Wade and Utah Jazz players training in Las Vegas.
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Aces center Liz Cambage, who missed four of the five final regular season games with COVID-19 issues, was on limited minutes while she continued to work her way back into playing condition.
The 30-year-old center is an important piece of the team’s championship quest and was mentally prepared for a battle with her counterpart for the night, Phoenix’s Brittney Griner, one of the best players in the world.
“Playoff basketball is like none other. We going out there to play hard and win this thing,” Cambage said.
There’s a feeling of, “It’s championship or bust,” for the Aces. The players are composed, with Laimbeer temping expectations: “We’re taking it game by game. It’s just game one. We have two more to go.”
The Aces coach gave kudos to staff for “putting butts in seats” with a pandemic-decimated workforce. “The bottom line is win the game,” he said.
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Laimbeer remembered what happened last season inside the WNBA Bubble in Bradenton, Florida where his team was swept by the Seattle Storm in the WNBA Finals. His team was missing Cambage, Kelsey Plum, and dependable all-around player Dearica Hamby.
But this season, the Aces are deep, with seven players averaging double-digit points. That’s the first time that’s happened on one team in WNBA history. Add to that not one, but two Sixth Women of the Year award candidates in Plum and Hamby.
On paper, Las Vegas looks like a team ready to win it all. The team clinched a double-bye to the semifinals with a 24-8 record in the regular season, averaging 109.3 points per 100 possessions and was second in defensive rating in the league.
That scoring firepower was on display tonight. Riquna Williams, Plum, and Chelsea Gray scored 26, 25, and 17 respectively. Most importantly, Gray had 12 assists, many in the second half to seal the victory. Las Vegas also shot lights out, going 49 percent from the floor, including 43 percent from three-point land.
A very competitive Phoenix team was led by Olympians and future Hall-of-Famers Diana Turasi (20 points) and Griner (24).
Besides Davis sitting in his usual courtside seat, more than a half-dozen Raiders players including Henry Ruggs III, Darren Waller, Maxx Crosby, and Bryan Edwards were in the arena cheering the Aces.
Game 2 is Thursday in Las Vegas and LVSportsBiz.com will be there again to report on the Aces.