Aces' A'ja Wilson sitting out vs. Paige Bueckers, Wings
Paige Bueckers missed four consecutive games and didn't even need to wipe off any rust.
Bueckers is fresh off the top outing of her short pro career as she leads the Dallas Wings into a Friday night battle against the host Las Vegas Aces.
Bueckers poured in 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting in Dallas' 93-80 road loss against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday. She made five 3-pointers and joined Caitlin Clark as the only rookies in WNBA history to have at least 35 points and five treys in a single game.
The explosion came after Bueckers missed three games with a concussion and another due to illness.
"I mean, I was coming back from a break and I feel like I could have used my voice more, been more disruptive, crashed the glass more," Bueckers said of her play. "So as I get my wind under me, I'll be better in those areas. But like I said, just trying to contribute in other areas and whatever that looks like on any given night and will try to put my full effort toward that."
The Wings have lost six straight entering the clash with the Aces , who will be without three-time league WNBA A'ja Wilson due to a head injury. The Aces placed Wilson in concussion protocol on Friday afternoon.
Wilson took a hard elbow to the nose during Las Vegas' 97-89 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday. She removed herself with 1:17 left in the third quarter and didn't return.
Wilson had 13 points but hit just 2 of 12 shots against Los Angeles. She also had eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
The bigger problem for the Aces against the Sparks was their defense. Los Angeles made 15 of 18 shots including 7 of 8 from 3-point range over the first 14 minutes while building a 39-19 lead. Overall, Los Angeles shot 56.9 percent.
Jackie Young tied her career high with 34 points and Chelsea Gray added a season-high 28 for Las Vegas.
"We score 89 points and we only had two good offensive production nights: Chelsea and Jackie. Everybody else were stinkers," Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said after the team's second straight loss. "The bench was a stinker. But 89 points should be enough to win a game. You can't give up 50 points at halftime. We're still searching for that 40-minute game. It's like a damn unicorn."
The Friday contest is part of the Commissioner's Cup competition, and both teams are at the bottom of the Western Conference portion. The Aces are sixth at 1-2, and the Wings are last at 0-4.
Field Level Media
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Loyd has breakout game in Aces' victory over Wings after slow start this season
LAS VEGAS — This is the Jewell Loyd the Aces traded for in January, the addition Las Vegas counted on to remain a WNBA championship contender. She scored 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 28.3 seconds left that put the Aces ahead for good, in their 88-84 victory over Dallas on Friday night. Loyd shot with confidence, making a statement from the beginning by scoring the Aces' first eight points. The 11-year, six-time All-Star entered the game averaging a career-low 9.1 points and shooting 30%. Loyd made 7 of 13 shots against the Wings, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. She often was guarded by Paige Bueckers, taken first overall in this year's draft. Loyd herself was the No. 1 pick in 2015. 'Confidence is always there,' Loyd said. 'I get annoyed more when I miss shots. Making shots allows people to play free and spacing and all those things. You want to see the ball go through the basket. My preparation's been the same. My teammates believe in me, coaches, fans. Everyone's encouraging me all the way through.' Coach Becky Hammon said before the game that she wasn't worried about Loyd's shooting, that it would come around. She was right. Loyd came out strong, scoring 16 points in the first half. 'We need her shooting," Hammon said afterward. 'We've been waiting for that explosion, and I thought she got off to a really great start.' Not that the entire night went smoothly. Loyd didn't score in the third quarter and committed three turnovers. Then in the fourth period, she took an elbow from DiJonai Carrington and left the floor. But Loyd wasn't gone long, returning in time to make the go-ahead shot after point guard Chelsea Gray kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound. Gray then fed the ball to Loyd, who drilled the shot. That helped the Aces erase an 11-point deficit with a 15-point run. 'We were so engaged, and there was a belief we were going to win this game,' Loyd said. Loyd was the shiny new piece the Aces — who won WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023 — were going to hang their title hopes on after acquiring her from Seattle in a three-team trade that also sent fan favorite and WNBA All-Star Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles. Given what Plum has done in LA, averaging 21.0 points, the Sparks often have looked as if they won the trade. But performances like this one against Dallas could change that dynamic. Loyd's slow start has mirrored the team's. The Aces entered the game 4-4 and nearly lost to a Wings team with just one victory, even giving up an 18-point run at one point in the third quarter. Las Vegas rallied with Loyd a key piece even with reigning MVP A'ja Wilson out because of a concussion. 'It's about winning games in September, so we just want to keep building habits,' Hammon said. 'We're still waiting for that unicorn 40 . As long as I can see us making progress and keeping the belief in each other. This is a process. This stuff just doesn't happen overnight. That's why you play 44 games.' WNBA: /hub/wnba-basketball
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Rhyne Howard hits record-tying 9 treys as Dream down Sky
Rhyne Howard sank a WNBA-record-tying nine 3-pointers and scored a season-high 36 points while leading the Atlanta Dream to an 88-70 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday in College Park, Ga. Howard, who had 19 long-range attempts, matched the league's single-game trey record held by Kelsey Mitchell , Jewell Loyd and Arike Ogunbowale . Allisha Gray added 15 points while Brionna Jones compiled 13 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta , which won its sixth game in seven tries. Jordin Canada had 12 points and eight assists in the win. Kamilla Cardoso logged 15 points and nine rebounds for Chicago . Angel Reese had 12 points and nine boards, and Ariel Atkins finished with 12 points. The Sky dropped their third straight game and fell to 1-5 on the road. After trailing by a point at half, Atlanta reclaimed the lead on consecutive 3-pointers by Canada and Howard less than two minutes into the third quarter. Atkins' two free throws gave Chicago a three-point edge with 7:06 left in the third, but Atlanta held the Sky scoreless for nearly five minutes while grabbing a 53-50 lead. Howard's step-back jumper with one second left in the quarter gave Atlanta a 58-54 advantage entering the fourth. An 8-2 spurt to begin the final quarter gave the Dream a 66-56 lead with 8:18 left forcing a Chicago timeout. The run continued after the break with Jones' three-point play and Howard's layup giving the Dream their largest lead to that point at 71-56. After Atlanta took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter, the Sky used a 13-0 run including Rachel Banham's consecutive 3-pointers to take a 31-23 advantage. Atkins' jumper later gave Chicago a five-point edge with 37.4 seconds remaining before Howard's free throws and Gray's mid-range basket in the closing seconds before halftime sliced Atlanta's deficit to 39-38. Reese and Cardoso led Chicago with eight first-half points apiece, while Howard's eight paced Atlanta. Field Level Media
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Aces' A'ja Wilson sitting out vs. Paige Bueckers, Wings
Paige Bueckers missed four consecutive games and didn't even need to wipe off any rust. Bueckers is fresh off the top outing of her short pro career as she leads the Dallas Wings into a Friday night battle against the host Las Vegas Aces. Bueckers poured in 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting in Dallas' 93-80 road loss against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday. She made five 3-pointers and joined Caitlin Clark as the only rookies in WNBA history to have at least 35 points and five treys in a single game. The explosion came after Bueckers missed three games with a concussion and another due to illness. "I mean, I was coming back from a break and I feel like I could have used my voice more, been more disruptive, crashed the glass more," Bueckers said of her play. "So as I get my wind under me, I'll be better in those areas. But like I said, just trying to contribute in other areas and whatever that looks like on any given night and will try to put my full effort toward that." The Wings have lost six straight entering the clash with the Aces , who will be without three-time league WNBA A'ja Wilson due to a head injury. The Aces placed Wilson in concussion protocol on Friday afternoon. Wilson took a hard elbow to the nose during Las Vegas' 97-89 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday. She removed herself with 1:17 left in the third quarter and didn't return. Wilson had 13 points but hit just 2 of 12 shots against Los Angeles. She also had eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks. The bigger problem for the Aces against the Sparks was their defense. Los Angeles made 15 of 18 shots including 7 of 8 from 3-point range over the first 14 minutes while building a 39-19 lead. Overall, Los Angeles shot 56.9 percent. Jackie Young tied her career high with 34 points and Chelsea Gray added a season-high 28 for Las Vegas. "We score 89 points and we only had two good offensive production nights: Chelsea and Jackie. Everybody else were stinkers," Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said after the team's second straight loss. "The bench was a stinker. But 89 points should be enough to win a game. You can't give up 50 points at halftime. We're still searching for that 40-minute game. It's like a damn unicorn." The Friday contest is part of the Commissioner's Cup competition, and both teams are at the bottom of the Western Conference portion. The Aces are sixth at 1-2, and the Wings are last at 0-4. Field Level Media
