Las Vegas Aces Beat Toronto 93-73 as Wilson Leads Third Straight Victory
The Las Vegas Aces extended their late-season winning streak Friday with a 93-73 victory over the Toronto Tempo, strengthening their position as the WNBA regular season moved toward its final stretch.
A'ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 27 points and eight rebounds, while Jackie Young added 23 points and eight assists in the 20-point home victory.
The win improved the Aces to 27-13 and gave them three consecutive victories following earlier wins against Connecticut and Toronto.
Las Vegas had defeated the Tempo 88-78 on the road five days earlier before returning home for Friday's rematch.
The Aces controlled the game early.
Las Vegas scored 27 points in the opening quarter compared with Toronto's 17, then added another 29 in the second period to build a 56-39 halftime advantage.
Toronto never recovered from the deficit.
The Aces maintained their advantage after halftime, outscoring the Tempo 18-16 in the third quarter before closing the game with a 19-18 final period.
Wilson's performance provided the centerpiece.
She made 10 of 17 field-goal attempts while collecting eight rebounds, continuing her role as the central figure in the Las Vegas lineup.
Young provided an equally important perimeter contribution.
She made four three-pointers and distributed eight assists, giving the Aces another major scoring and playmaking option.
The team finished with 20 assists and committed only seven turnovers, an efficient ball-control performance that limited opportunities for Toronto to create easy points in transition.
Las Vegas also collected 38 rebounds and recorded 10 steals.
The victory came shortly after the Aces received difficult injury news.
Forward NaLyssa Smith was ruled out for the remainder of the season because of a leg injury suffered during the previous game against Toronto.
Smith had been averaging approximately 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds and was leading the league in field-goal percentage at 63.8%, making her absence significant as Las Vegas enters the postseason race.
Her injury increases the importance of contributions from the rest of the frontcourt and places additional responsibility on the team's established stars.
Wilson, Young and veteran guard Chelsea Gray remain at the core of a Las Vegas team attempting to compete for another championship.
For Toronto, Isabelle Harrison scored 15 points and collected seven rebounds, while Laura Juškaitė finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Tempo entered the matchup facing a Las Vegas team that had begun rebuilding momentum after an inconsistent stretch earlier in the month.
The Aces had lost consecutive games to Minnesota and New York, recovered with wins against Washington, then dropped games to Minnesota and Atlanta before beginning their current three-game streak.
That pattern makes the latest run important.
Late-season consistency can influence both playoff positioning and the confidence of a team entering elimination basketball.
The Aces have substantial postseason experience after winning the 2025 championship, and maintaining health and depth will be particularly important following Smith's injury.
Friday's game demonstrated that Las Vegas can still generate balanced offense despite the loss.
Wilson provided interior scoring, Young stretched Toronto's defense from the perimeter and the team protected the basketball effectively.
The 93-73 result also gave Las Vegas its second victory over Toronto in less than a week.
For sports audiences, the game provided another indication that the defending champions remain a significant factor in the WNBA race.
The postseason will present a different level of pressure, particularly against the league's strongest contenders.
For now, however, the Aces have responded to a difficult portion of their schedule with three consecutive victories.
Friday's comfortable win gave Las Vegas additional momentum at precisely the stage of the season when consistency begins to matter most.
Men's Newspaper Contributor
