A'ja Wilson drops 32 in return from injury as Aces beat Fire

A’ja Wilson returned after missing three games with an ankle injury and totaled 32 points and 10 rebounds as the visiting Las Vegas Aces defeated the expansion Portland Fire 88-80 Thursday night.

Jackie Young added 19 points and 11 assists and NaLyssa Smith scored 16 as the defending WNBA champion Aces (16-6) pulled even with Minnesota for the league’s best record.

Carla Leite led the Fire (9-13) with 13 points and five assists. Megan Gustafson scored 11 and Emily Engstler added 10 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Teja Oblak chipped in 11 points off the bench.

After trailing by 12 at the half, the Fire pulled within seven points on a three-point play by Leite with 6:06 left in the third but were unable to get any closer. Gray was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 1 second left in the quarter and made all three free throws to extend Las Vegas’ lead to 69-52 entering the fourth.

The Aces shot 50.8% on field-goal attempts (31 of 61) and were 8 of 20 from 3-point range. The Fire shot 44.3% (27 of 61) from the floor and were 11 of 32 from distance.

Wilson, a four-time league MVP, scored 20 points in the first half as the Aces built a 45-33 lead.

Bridget Carleton opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to pull Portland within 23-21, but the Fire were held scoreless for the next 4:18 as Wilson scored six of the Aces’ eight points during that stretch as they extended their lead to double digits. A driving layup by Wilson with 2:07 left in the quarter gave the Aces a 41-28 lead, their largest of the half.

The Aces used an 11-2 first-quarter run to pull away from a 12-all tie. Jewell Loyd made a pair of 3-pointers during the streak. The Fire held Las Vegas scoreless for the remainder of the quarter to get within 23-18.

The game, which was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. PT, didn’t get underway until 7:12 p.m. because the game and shot clocks positioned on the stanchions behind the baskets were malfunctioning. Backup clocks were set up on the floor in opposite corners of the court. The clocks on the baskets were fixed at halftime.

–Field Level Media