The visiting Las Vegas Aces entered Thursday's game at Indiana in the midst of their best stretch of the season thus far, having won their last three games while averaging 93.7 points. However, like the last meeting between the teams on July 3, the Aces didn't have enough to handle a Fever team without its best player in Caitlin Clark.
In fairness, Vegas did put together a more respectable effort this time around. Thursday's 80-70 final was 17 points closer than the 81-54 drubbing the Aces took in Indianapolis to start the month, and they got 50 points out of players not named A'ja Wilson this time around, which was a vast improvement. The lack of support Wilson received from her teammates in the July 3 loss quite literally went viral, as Wilson scored 29 of the Aces' 54 points while the rest of her team combined to score just 25.
Wilson was the Aces' leading scorer again in Thursday's loss, but her 20 points came on a relatively inefficient 7-of-17 from the field and her five turnovers certainly didn't help her team's case down the stretch. Jackie Young had the best performance of the night for Vegas all things considered, as the All-Star starter scored 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting while also dishing out three assists.
The Aces held a 41-35 lead at halftime after Young (13) and Wilson (12) combined for 25 points in the first half, but the two players cooled off and combined for just 14 points in a lackluster second half. The Fever outscored the Aces 35-27 in the third quarter, thanks to an 11-point explosion in the quarter from three-time champion Natasha Howard. The Aces climbed within four points at one point in the fourth, but the Fever pulled away and gained their first double-digit lead on their final basket of the game.