A’ja Wilson had 24 points and 14 rebounds as the host Las Vegas Aces defeated the Atlanta Dream 97-90 on Tuesday night.
Kelsey Plum added 22 points and eight assists, Chelsea Gray scored 22 and Jackie Young had 20 as the Aces (24-10) kept alive their chances of catching the Chicago Sky for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Maya Caldwell and Erica Wheeler scored 17 points apiece and Aari McDonald added 16 for the Dream (14-20), who played just seven players and fell into the eighth spot with two games to play.
Cheyenne Parker and Rhyne Howard scored 14 apiece for Atlanta and Naz Hillmon had 10.
Las Vegas made all 19 of its free-throw attempts. The Aces shot 47.8 percent from the field and connected on 14 of 27 3-point shots.
Atlanta made 50 percent of its shots, including 9 of 19 from behind the arc. The Dream were 15 of 18 from the line.
Gray converted a three-point play and Plum added a basket to start the fourth-quarter scoring and give Las Vegas a 67-65 lead.
Parker made two free throws to tie the score before Plum’s 3-pointer started a 5-0 Aces’ run.
Las Vegas took a nine-point lead before the Dream pulled even at 80 midway through the quarter.
Plum’s basket broke the tie, but Hillmon’s three-point play gave Atlanta a one-point lead.
Wilson answered with a basket and Plum added a three-pointer that gave the Aces an 87-83 lead.
McDonald’s 3-pointer pulled the Dream within one point with 2:09 remaining, but they didn’t score again.
Erica Wheeler made consecutive baskets to start the third-quarter scoring and give the Dream a 48-47 lead.
Plum had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to give the Aces a 55-50 lead.
Wheeler scored five points and Parker added a basket to give Atlanta a 65-62 lead at the end of the period.
Young scored eight consecutive points to give the Aces a 25-20 lead.
Parker’s basket stopped the run before Wilson’s 3-pointer gave Las Vegas a 28-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.
McDonald made a 3-pointer and a three-point play as Atlanta took a 30-28 lead.
Gray made consecutive baskets and Wilson made four straight free throws as Las Vegas took a 47-44 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
