Las Vegas Aces dominate Minnesota Lynx, earning season sweep with 98-81 victory

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has been saying it for a while as the 2023 WNBA season has progressed.

When it comes to dominance, to game-in and game-out play, Reeve hasn't often seen the like of this year's Las Vegas Aces in her years in the league.

The 2014 Phoenix Mercury come to mind. The offensive juggernaut that was the 2019 Washington Mystics.

And this team: Saturday at Target Center, showing typical relentlessness, the Aces improved to 21-2 with a 98-81 victory over the Lynx.

"They stay true to their identity all the time,'' Reeve said. "It's all-the-time effort. They get leadership from the top. That's who we strive to be.''

Unfortunately, after being swept in the season series 4-0, and losing those games by an average of 23.3 points, the Lynx have a ways to go.

But playing against the defending league champions can be illuminating. And, for the growing Lynx, educational, according to Reeve. She liked the way rookie Diamond Miller (17 points, a block) battled with Aces guard Chelsea Gray (11 points, 11 assists). She liked the way her team battled back with an 11-0 run of its own after the Aces had started the game 11-0.

But this is a Las Vegas team verging on the historic. The Aces became the third WNBA team after the 1990 Houston Comets and the 2010 Seattle Storm to start a season 21-2. Their .913 win percentage is on pace to be the best in league history, and they are shooting better than 50% for the season, something that's never been done.

And they were, again, relentless. Down 13 early, the Lynx ended the first quarter 8-0, then pulled within two on Nikolina Milic's three-pointer early in the second quarter. But the Aces calmly finished the half on a 22-6 run, taking over the game for good.

"They have really good players,'' said Napheesa Collier, who scored 16 points for the Lynx. "From one to seven they can go off for 20 at any time. They have the talent and the chemistry, because they've played together for a while. That's a hard combination to beat.''

Five Aces players scored in double figures. MVP candidate A'ja Wilson had a season-high 35 points with 14 rebounds on 14-for-17 shooting, becoming just the third player in league history to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and shoot 80%. Jackie Young scored 19, Kelsey Plum 16.

The Lynx's biggest problem? Turnovers and free throws. The Aces turned 15 Lynx turnovers into 25 points. They had a 25-11 edge in that category and outscored Minnesota 18-9 from the free-throw line.

Unless they would meet in the playoffs, this was the last time the teams see each other this season. Like Reeve, Miller isn't necessarily glad about it.

"I know the result of the game isn't what I or the team wants,'' Miller said. "But as a rookie, it's so much fun competing against them.''

There were a couple of other silver linings for the Lynx (10-13), who host Washington Wednesday: Kayla McBride might have rediscovered her range. She was 0-for-6 through three quarters and was 0-for-15 dating to the end of the Lynx's game with Atlanta on Tuesday. But she hit three of five shots and three of four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, a good sign. And Aerial Powers, back for just her second game after an ankle injury, scored seven points in just over 8 minutes of playing time.

The Lynx could get post player Jessica Shepard back from a non-COVID illness in time for Wednesday's game.