It’s another win for the Aces! The two-time WNBA champions are on fire, and the scoreboard proves it as No. 2 seed LV Aces dismantled the Mercury 91-78. But this win was more of a triple show. That’s because the big three for the Aces combined for jaw-dropping 70 points out of the team’s 91. Every bucket, every assist, every look—it all clicked like second nature. But while the box score tells one side of the story, A’ja Wilson insists the Aces’ success has more to do with something you can’t measure!

It’s chemistry. From the very first whistle, A’ja, Jackie, and Gray were locked in. As a result, the team leaned more on the Gray-to-Wilson connection in transition since the beginning of the game. While Gray launched full-court passes that sliced through Mercury’s defense, Wilson was always perfectly positioned for easy finishes.

So, naturally, the team was asked about Chelsea and Wilson having a Kobe and Shaq-like vibe on the court. And, the four-time MVP didn’t shy away from admitting: “I mean, I feel like we have all just banked equity with each other off the court to where on the court we can just get to our spots. We get an understanding of what makes people great.”

“When it comes to Chelsea and I particularly, I don’t practice catching her passes. It’s just a mental thing. And there’s the connection that we have out the gate. But she makes my life easy. And I hope that I make her life easier. Just because we just blow off each other. We read off each other.” Undoubtedly, Game 2 was more between Mercury and Ace’s big three.

After admitting to being fatigued in Game 1 on October 4, Young was in her fullest form in the second one. By the time she left the court, she had already set a franchise record for points in a finals game with 32. Not just that, she’s also only the second player in W’s history to score 30 or more points in the first three quarters.

Add in A’ja Wilson, who put in 28 points with 14 rebounds. Had she scored one more basket, both Jackie and Wilson would have been the first duo ever to reach a 30-point plateau in the finals. As the team’s captain quipped afterward, “I dropped the ball on that one. Sorry, Jack.” She smiled. Then, there was six-time All-Star Gray, who finished with 10 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. She even stood out defensively, yielding ground to Satou Sabally. She used her world-class IQ to anticipate the potential Mercury drives and forced three steals.

“We don’t get any of that if we don’t play out of our defense. And I think that was really what kind of got us going, was we could get stops. We weren’t taking the ball out of the rim every single time. And it’s kind of hard to get your defense set up. So we just kind of take what the defense gives us. I get mad when Chelsea doesn’t shoot because she’s trying to pass. She gets mad when I don’t shoot and I’m trying to pass. But that’s just a connection that we’ve built over these years. And I’m grateful for it,” Wilson added.

In the first half, the Aces consistently pushed the pace, fueled by defensive rebounds and timely steals. This allowed them to seize control of the game as the team led two dominant 10-0 and 7-0 runs, forcing the Mercury to burn two timeouts just to stop the bleeding. But what added to the Mercury’s struggles even more was that AT spent extended time on the bench after picking up three personal fouls. Now, the Aces had even more room to operate, and the trio capitalized on it. The big three distributed everything from long-distance passes to no-look feeds, making the Aces’ offense unstoppable.

Still, the dynamic triplet will need to stay sharp in the upcoming game to maintain this level of dominance!

Mercury’s comeback in Game 3. Yes or no?

For the first two games, the Mercury lost because of its bench. The head coach emptied the bench with 3:58 remaining in the last quarter, reflecting the early loss. After all, the team entered the postseason with the league’s highest-scoring bench.

But that advantage hasn’t been visible against the Aces so far. At first, the team was outscored 41-16 in Game 1 and then 16-8 in Game 2. But while the team hasn’t been capitalizing on its bench for two games, it doesn’t mean they won’t for Game 3—especially since the upcoming game is shifting to Phoenix, where the X-factor, their fans, can play a vital role in the win.

The team’s been 15-7 at PHX Arena in the regular season; they’ve even won important Round 1 and semis games during the playoffs. “I think the X-Factor is a huge part of the success we had this season… It’s always good to be home,” said Kahleah Copper earlier. So, yes, the Mercury’s got higher chances of winning. What do you think?