"I think in this game in general, it was about having some fight, and we kind of lost that," Mercury star Kahleah Copper said.
LAS VEGAS — As the final buzzer sounded on Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the Las Vegas Aces celebrated by going and talking to Usher, the singer who sat courtside. They threw t-shirts into the stands. They looked like the kind of team that had just taken a 2-0 lead in the Finals.
On the other end of the court, the Phoenix Mercury walked off looking just as frustrated as they had throughout the game they lost, 91-78, on Sunday. The Aces’ A’ja Wilson had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Jackie Young added 32 points and 8 rebounds. After scoring 27 points to take the opening frame, Phoenix was held to just 10 points in the second quarter. It was the kind of game where the Mercury couldn’t find their rhythm, and they struggled to adjust to Wilson and Young’s offensive flow.
One sequence late in the first quarter summed up just how frustrated Phoenix was by the Aces’ defense. Kahleah Copper missed a layup, got her own rebound, and then missed again. Alyssa Thomas got the rebound and tried to shoot the ball, but was blocked by Chelsea Gray.
While Copper scored 23 points and Satou Sabally had 22, few other players found ways to contribute. The Mercury shot just 17.9 percent from the 3-point line, and the Aces outrebounded Phoenix 43-34. The Mercury bench, which normally makes a huge difference for the team, was held to eight points, mostly scored late in the game, when the result was no longer in question.
No team wants to be down 0-2 in a best-of-seven series, but the Mercury have the benefit of a change of scenery as the series shifts to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4. The Mercury were 15-7 in PHX Arena in the regular season, and won pivotal games there in both the first round of the playoffs and the semifinals.
“We've been down before. We've been overlooked,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said after the game. “You know, obviously people are going to start talking about how good Las Vegas has been, and they should. We've kind of always bounced back right, and so we're excited to go home to play in our home arena. “
Phoenix’s fan base, known as the X Factor, prides itself on the effect it can have on opposing teams, and the Mercury will need them as they aim to end their longest losing streak of this postseason.
“I think the X Factor is a huge part of the success we had this season," Copper said. "It's always good to be home."
In addition to watching tape to make adjustments for Game 3, Phoenix will need to lean on its history of pushing through adversity. After losing Game 1 of the semifinals to the Minnesota Lynx, the Mercury mounted a historic 20-point comeback in Game 2 and never let up from there.
“[We will remember] our playoff journey period, being in Minnesota, being down 17 plus, or whatever it was in the third quarter, being able to fight back and knowing that that's a part of our identity,” Copper said. “But I think we really got to lock in defensively, because that's what we were hanging our hats on. But I think in this game in general, it was about having some fight, and we kind of lost that.”
Copper also said the Mercury need to share and move the ball more. They had 17 assists on Sunday, while they averaged 20.9 per game in the regular season. Rookie Monique Akoa Makani led the team with seven assists. They will also need to rely on Sabally. She left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury, but said she was fine after the game.
Las Vegas took Game 1 on Friday night behind a monster performance from Dana Evans, who came off the bench to score 21. On Sunday, it was Wilson and Young. The Aces don’t lack offensive weapons, making it harder for Phoenix to stop the bleeding once someone gets going.
They don’t have much time to nurse their wounds after this loss — Game 3 is on Wednesday night in Phoenix (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Category: General Sports
