A’ja Wilson scores 36 as Las Vegas Aces eliminate Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever 94-83
A’ja Wilson scored 36 points and collected 10 rebounds as the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Indiana Fever 94-83 in the deciding Game 3 of the WNBA first-round series on Thursday night, a game in which Caitlin Clark left the court bloodied after an on-court elbow.
Wilson is a four-time WNBA MVP and the Aces entered the series as the defending champions and the third seed; Las Vegas has won three of the past four titles. The Fever were the sixth seed in the first round, and this is the second consecutive season the Aces have ended Indiana’s campaign. The teams met in last season’s semifinals, with Las Vegas winning the fifth game in overtime.
Wilson made 11 of 18 shots in Game 3 and added 10 rebounds. She had opened the series with 38 points and 16 rebounds in Game 1. Teammates Chelsea Gray contributed 23 points and Jackie Young scored 18.
Caitlin Clark finished the deciding game with 18 points, scoring 11 in the first quarter and seven across the remaining periods. With just over three minutes remaining she took an accidental elbow to the mouth from Jewell Loyd while contesting a rebound; no foul was called, the contact appeared to knock out one of Clark’s teeth and left her bleeding. Clark briefly left the court, returned before play resumed and showed an official her bloody mouth while protesting the no-call, then remained in the game as Las Vegas pulled away.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 23 points and Aliyah Boston finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Las Vegas pushed ahead 67-55 in the third quarter but went cold over the final 4:32 of that period, making one shot; the Fever twice trimmed the deficit to two points in the fourth quarter.
Tensions produced multiple technicals early: Clark and Las Vegas’s Brianna Turner each picked up a technical just more than three minutes into the game after Turner moved into a Fever huddle and was shoved by Clark. Early in the second quarter, Indiana coach Stephanie White received a technical while arguing that Turner had brought down Lexie Hull, though Hull instead was assessed the foul.
Aces forward Stephanie Talbot, who started all but one game this season, did not play because of a leg injury and was replaced by Jewell Loyd, who scored 11 points. Talbot had averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in the first two games of the series.
Las Vegas advances to play the winner of the Golden State–Dallas series, which will be decided on Friday night in San Francisco.