Aces game day
Who: Phoenix Mercury (8-15, 5-8 Western Conference) at Las Vegas Aces (16-6, 11-4 Western Conference)
Where: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
TV: KMCC-TV (Channel 34), NBC Sports Network
Streaming: Peacock
Bottom line: Las Vegas Aces takes on the Phoenix Mercury after A’ja Wilson scored 32 points in the Las Vegas Aces’ 88-80 win against the Portland Fire.
The Aces are 11-4 in conference play. Las Vegas is first in the Western Conference with 22.3 assists per game led by Chelsea Gray averaging 7.3. The Mercury are 5-8 against Western Conference opponents. Phoenix has a 5-11 record against teams over .500.
Las Vegas makes 48.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.7 percentage points higher than Phoenix has allowed to its opponents (46.0%). Phoenix averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 fewer makes per game than Las Vegas allows.
The teams square off for the third time this season. The Aces won the last matchup 86-76 on June 18. Wilson scored 33 points to help lead the Aces to the victory.
Top performers: Wilson is scoring 26.1 points per game with 9.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Aces. Jackie Young is averaging 18 points and seven assists over the last 10 games.Alyssa Thomas is averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.6 steals for the Mercury. Kahleah Copper is averaging 24.9 points over the last 10 games.
Last 10 games: Aces — 7-3, averaging 88.0 points, 30.8 rebounds, 21.1 assists, 8.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 86.6 points per game. Mercury — 4-6, averaging 86.3 points, 32.2 rebounds, 20.2 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 86.6 points.
Injuries: Aces — Janiah Barker: day to day (leg), Dana Evans: day to day (leg); Mercury — Natasha Mack: out (foot). ———
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
