How A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young Led Aces Past Mystics 86-76

A'ja Wilson had 26 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday night in the Las Vegas Aces' 86-76 win over the Washington Mystics at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The loss ended Washington's seven-game winning streak.

Wilson made 10 of 18 shots and blocked 4 shots. She scored 9 points in the third quarter and another 9 in the fourth.

Her 17th double-double of the season moved her into the WNBA lead. Wilson has 137 in her career, fifth on the league's all-time list.

She has now reached 20 points and 10 rebounds in 107 games. Tina Charles holds the WNBA record with 109. Tuesday was also Wilson's 12th game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. No player in league history has more.

Jackie Young scored 25 points and had 8 assists without a turnover. She made 7 of 17 shots, went 4-of-9 from 3-point range, and hit all 7 of her free throws.

Only seven players before Young had recorded at least 25 points and 8 assists in a game without a turnover. None has done it twice.

Young came in with 3,992 career points. A 3-pointer with 2:25 left in the first quarter took her past 4,000, and she ended the night at 4,017.

She also became the 25th player with at least 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 1,000 assists, and 300 steals. Young got there in 276 games. Diana Taurasi needed 246, Candace Parker 261, and Tamika Catchings 272.

Washington scored 9 straight early and went up 11-5. Las Vegas answered by scoring 17 of the final 25 points in the quarter, with Young accounting for 13, and led 22-19.

It was 41-41 at halftime.

Aces coach Becky Hammon said Washington's early offensive rebounds and deep catches inside prompted her to use a timeout.

"Well, I called that just under — around six minutes, I believe — and they had 11 points," Hammon said. "And so you start doing the math, they're on pace for a big quarter. So I kind of wanted to get our attention early on. They had already missed a couple layups and got the offensive rebounds. Those kind of things can't happen.

"So just addressing some things that we had talked about before, but calling the timeout," Hammon added. "And, you know, I could be a little fiery over there. If they need my fire, I'm going to give them my fire. And I think a lot of times it's just an attention grab. They know I'm not pleased if I call a timeout that early. Things are not going well. So that's really all it was."

Young said taking care of the ball was something she wanted out of the night.

"I needed a game with no turnovers," Young said. "Honestly, I like to keep them low, or, I mean, none at all would be even better. And so, I mean, it feels good to just be able to go out there and make the right reads and still be able to be aggressive and get to my spot.

"I know the defense is going to throw a lot of different things at me," Young added. "And, I mean, at one point they threw the blitz at me, and so it's just on me to be able to get the ball out. And then to the big or the guard, whoever it is, and then they get it popping after that."

Chelsea Gray's step-back jumper with 9:22 left in the third gave Las Vegas a 43-42 lead. The Aces stayed in front from there.

That basket started a 9-2 run that made it 50-44. Washington cut into the margin before the end of the quarter, with Las Vegas taking a 63-60 lead into the fourth.

NaLyssa Smith scored on a cut with 5:32 remaining to make it 73-63, the first double-digit margin of the night. Shakira Austin got Washington back within 77-71 with 2:46 to play.

Young scored 5 of the next 7 Las Vegas points. The Aces were up 84-71 with 1:05 remaining.

Wilson said Las Vegas began dictating the action in the second half instead of reacting to Washington.

"Yeah, I think we were starting to just dictate things versus being just like reacting to things," Wilson said. "I think that's the biggest difference. And it comes from just understanding what needs to be done and what's in front of you.

"I think sometimes we kind of get ahead of ourselves when we're constantly looking at scoreboards like, okay, how can we get points on the board, versus just realizing what's in front of us and dictating actions on both sides of the basketball," Wilson added. "So I think that helped us in the stretch."

Gray had 12 points and 5 assists. Smith finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

Mai Yamamoto had 3 points and 3 steals in 13 minutes. Ta'Niya Latson scored 5 points with 2 assists in 10 minutes. Jewell Loyd made 2 field goals to move to 2,092 for her career, putting her alone in 17th on the WNBA's all-time list.

Washington had a 41-30 rebounding advantage and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. Las Vegas forced 16 turnovers and scored 26 points off them while giving the ball away 8 times.

The Aces made 45.7% of their shots, went 9-of-23 from 3-point range, and missed only 1 of 14 free throws.

Hammon said Las Vegas still gave Washington too many extra possessions.

"Yeah, you tell me how do I get that buy-in," Hammon said. "I'll listen to you.

"It has to be a mindset. It has to be a priority," Hammon added. "Our season depends on defense and rebounding, and I'm going to continue to demand it. It's that important. I didn't think we did a great job tonight. Yes, they're going to get some. Fourteen? No. That's a good recipe to lose. It's just too many opportunities to score."

Kierstan Bell was out for personal reasons. Dana Evans missed the game with a left leg injury, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus remained in concussion protocol, and Justine Pissott was sidelined by a right leg injury.

Las Vegas had lost 111-71 at New York on Sunday. Gray, Wilson, and Young did not play in that game.

Austin had 20 points and 8 rebounds for Washington. Sonia Citron scored 19, Kiki Iriafen finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton had 6 points in her Mystics debut.

The announced attendance of 10,224 was the 61st straight sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Las Vegas is 23-11. Washington is 19-13.

The teams meet again Thursday in Las Vegas.