The Las Vegas Aces earned a crucial 84-72 road win over the Indiana Fever in Game 3 of their semifinal series, moving within one victory of a third Finals appearance in four years. Jackie Young continued with her individual brilliance, pouring in 25 points, while NaLyssa Smith added 16 against her former team. The Aces did take away a big win, given it was at Gainbridge, yet the game revealed missed opportunities and stretches of inconsistency that could prove costly moving forward. Even head coach Becky Hammon has acknowledged the areas the Aces still need to improve.

In the post-game press conference, coach Becky Hammon was concise about what she wanted fixed. “Obviously, we’ve got to clean up the boards.” The team allowed the Fever to hang around for much of the game, with Indiana even taking a brief lead in the third quarter. A key area of concern emerged, and the statistic caught coach Becky Hammon’s attention.

The rebound gap (26 for Aces against 39 for Indiana) turned possessions into momentum shifts and created extra shots that nearly erased the Aces’ early lead. The numbers explain Becky Hammon’s frustration and also why the Aces still won. Indiana shot just 35.6 percent from the field while Las Vegas forced tough looks and capitalized on offensive balance. Indiana pushed back hard, led by Lexie Hull with a 16-point and 10 rebounds double-double, and that 16 to 4 offensive rebound advantage created extra scoring chances that Las Vegas barely survived.

The coach further acknowledged that, “Look, we have to do it collectively. We know we’re better as a group. That first half, we didn’t get as much ball movement that I would like (to have), and it kind of forced us into taking some tough shots, and you’re not going to beat this team in the first action. Everybody’s very well scouted at this point. We got to get off the ball, get that thing popping. Of course, we want to play out of our defense, but I thought for the most part it was pretty good.“

The Aces can take comfort in the fourth-quarter dominance and balanced scoring that carried them through, but Hammon’s focus on rebounds is a reminder that playoff margins are small and fundamentals decide championships. That concern now moves us into a closer look at who led the Aces’ charge in Game 3 and why their performances mattered.

Aces display team effort as A’ja Wilson slips from her usual self

Jackie Young delivered a relentless scoring night, finishing with 25 points while playing a steady supporting role as the Aces’ offensive engine. Young hit tough mid-range shots and made the right reads to finish 9 of 14 from the field, a performance that helped offset a cold shooting night from A’ja Wilson and kept Las Vegas on track late in the game. Her offense set the tone in the fourth quarter when the Aces closed the gap for good.

NaLyssa Smith continued her postseason revival with 16 points and impactful defense. Including shot blocks that changed possession timing and a string of strong finishes inside. Smith has been a recent force for Las Vegas after leaving Indiana earlier in the year. And her ability to attack the paint and crash the boards in spurts created key extra possessions that the Aces converted when it mattered most.

Indiana fought back through Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull, who combined for 37 points and provided most of the Fever offense. But the overall rebounding shortfall and a late nine-minute field goal drought doomed their comeback hopes. The Aces now hold home court leverage and a series lead, but working on rebounding will clearly be their focal point. Address that, and Las Vegas can feel confident. Ignore it, and the series could quickly turn against their favor.