Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, A’ja Wilson’s Box Score Stats, Highlights as Aces Eliminate Fever

Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson’s dominant performance propelled the defending WNBA champions to a 94-83 home victory over No. 6 seed Indiana Fever in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

The No. 3 seed Aces, who were 4.5-point favorites (per FanDuel Sportsbook), included four players scoring in double figures.

Here’s a look at the best players in the game.

The updated playoff bracket is as follows.

The Aces led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter, then 82-73 with 4:23 left in regulation, but Indiana superstar guard Kelsey Mitchell went on a personal 7-0 run capped by a putback three with 3:00 left to cut the lead to 82-80.

However, the Aces were too strong down the stretch and ended the game on a 12-3 run. Ten of those points came via free throws.

Wilson was a superstar as usual and showed why she is capable of winning her fifth WNBA MVP award. The Aces were plus-12 with her on the floor, and she also made 12 of 15 free throws. Wilson ended up playing 37 minutes.

Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young played all 40 minutes of this playoff game. Gray, one of the most scoring players in WNBA history, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. Young capped a fantastic three-game series, averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

Las Vegas shot 45 percent from the field, made 8 of 20 threes and made 28 of 35 free throws. Indiana went to the line 20 times and made 14 free throws.

Indiana guard Caitlin Clark had an up and down game. On the positive side, she had a big defensive impact (four blocks, two steals) and scored 18 points. However, she also committed a game-high six turnovers and shot 6 of 18 (3 of 12 from three).

Clark was also inadvertently elbowed in the face by Aces guard Jewell Loyd during a rebound attempt in the fourth quarter. No foul was called.

Overall, Indiana shot just 38 percent from the field and 9 of 32 (28 percent) from three.

Mitchell had a rough shooting night (7 of 23, 3 of 11 from three), but his efforts down the stretch kept Indiana in the game.

Aliyah Boston was arguably Indiana’s best player with her double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Myisha Hines-Allen had her double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in just 20 minutes.

Las Vegas will now face either the No. 2 seed Golden State Valkyries or the No. 7 seed Dallas Wings in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals, which begin Sunday.

Golden State will host Dallas on Friday in Game 3 of its first-round series to determine Vegas’ opponent.