Aces win ninth straight with 83-61 win over Phoenix, move into sole possession of third place

LAS VEGAS -- Six weeks ago, the Las Vegas Aces were in ninth place. After an 83-61 dismantling of the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night in front of the franchise's 45th straight sellout crowd, the Aces are in sole possession of third place, just one-half game back of the second-place Atlanta Dream. 

A'ja Wilson led five players in double figures with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Aces to their ninth-straight win, marking the first time the home team won a game in seven meetings with Phoenix.

The Aces (23-14) now take their streak on a three-game tour that ends in Atlanta on Wednesday, after stops in Washington D.C. and Chicago.

The Aces have won 14 of 17 since opening the season 9-11.

Dana Evans came off the bench to score 17 points and register a game-high +22, while Jackie Young, NaLyssa Smith and Chelsea Gray each finished with 12.

MVP-candidate Alyssa Thomas finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 40% (6 of 15) from the floor for Phoenix. The rest of the Mercury shot 16 of 56 (28.5%) from the field.

"We become a very dangerous group when we play defense like that," Aces coach Becky Hammon said. "We have a lot of experience. We have a lot of trust. There's some things that we do that it really is like blind trust, like you feel exposed to a certain degree, and it's our job to make sure that everybody's on the same page, executing the same schemes, and I really feel that's one of the things that's built this group together."

Las Vegas opened the game on a heater, shooting 60% from the field over the first five minutes, hitting 6 of 10 to take a 14-8 lead before the first TV timeout. They also set the tone defensively, holding the Mercury to just 25% shooting (3 of 12). Out of the timeout, however, Phoenix used a 9-2 run to take a 17-16 lead before Kierstan Bell iced the Mercury with a 3-pointer to give Las Vegas the lead again. The Aces used a 7-0 run to end the stanza and took a 23-17 lead into the second quarter.

The Mercury finished the first quarter hitting 33.3% from the floor (7 of 21), including a bleak 2 of 10 (20%) from 3-point range. The Aces, meanwhile, shot 50% (9 of 10) from the floor, including 42.9% (3 of 7) from long range.

The Aces wasted no time in the second quarter, scoring six of the first seven points to open an 11-point lead. Though they missed their three 3-point attempts in the second, they'd still bury 9 of 19 (47.4%) from the field and outscore the Mercury 20-12 to take a 14-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Phoenix continued to struggle on the offensive end, shooting just 23.5% in the second, making only 4-of-17 shots from the floor.

Both teams were physical in the third quarter, with the Mercury trying to establish their presence and steal the momentum from the Aces. Though Las Vegas was outscored by a point in the third, it still tightened its grip on defense.

The Aces rekindled their offensive touch in the fourth and outscored the Mercury 24-15 to secure their largest win since their 101-77 victory over the Golden State Valkyries that tipped off the nine-game streak.

Led by Evans' hot hand, Las Vegas' bench outscored Phoenix's reserves, 22-11.

"I got a lot of faith in our bench," Hammon said. "We have a lot of solid pieces and pieces that can hurt you in different ways. Let Jewell see a couple go through, that's gonna be a problem. Kiah, we know and trust on the defensive end and even offensively, just knowing all of our sets, knowing how to roll what we're looking for individually. And then, Dana can come in and hit you in a different kind of way, a lot more in pick and roll."

Since being blown out by 53 at home to the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 2, the Aces have outscored teams by a league-best 10.4 points per game.

The Aces' nine-game win streak ties a record since the franchise moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio, and ranks second all-time. The San Antonio Silver Stars won 12 straight in 2012.