‘Jackie Young 30 points’ Las Vegas upsets LA… ‘Turacci double-double’ Phoenix gets first win

• allforyouclick
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• on May 26, 2023

After falling behind by as many as 12 points in the first half, Las Vegas rallied for a second-half victory. Phoenix coach Curt Miller, who took a knee to Las Vegas in the Finals while leading Connecticut last year, and Derricka Hamby, who revealed she was treated unfairly in connection with her pregnancy, failed to exact revenge on Las Vegas.

In a showdown between teams mired in an opening two-game losing streak, Phoenix laughed. Forty-year-old “living legend” Diana Turasi led the way for the team, giving them their first win and sending Minnesota to their third straight defeat.

Las Vegas Aces (2 wins) 94-85 LA Sparks (1 win)
(Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA)
Jackie Young 35:06 30 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals 3P:4/7
Eiza Wilson 31:57 19 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
Chelsea Gray 37:09 16 points, 8 assists
Candace Parker 22:16 10 points, 8 rebounds (over Las Vegas)
Chini Ogumike 28:10 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
Lexi Brown 30:31 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Derricka Hamby 27:07 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Jordyn Canada 27:04 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
Carly Samuelson 21:24 11 points 3P:3/6 (out of LA)

Jackie Young’s inside-outside bombing for a career-high 30 points and a second-half explosion from Eiza Wilson gave Las Vegas the upset win. The Lynx didn’t play well enough to commit 20 turnovers, including 16 steals, but their second-half intensity and battle for rebounds gave Las Vegas the edge. Las Vegas won both games without head coach Becky Hammon, who served a two-game suspension.

It didn’t start well for Las Vegas. They gave up seven points in the first quarter to Lexi Brown, who hit two 3-pointers, and to Hamby, who gritted her teeth against Las Vegas. Hamby was aggressive in her post play against Chelsea Gray, and on defence she harassed last season’s MVP, Eiza Wilson.

With Wilson’s scoring tied up, the first half was frustrating for Las Vegas. Las Vegas’ frontcourt, which is wild and dynamic when it’s playing well but unorganised when it’s not, committed a lot of turnovers and couldn’t get the game flowing. Even veteran Candace Parker joined the turnover ranks.

Las Vegas got as close as four points thanks to Jackie Young, who continued to get her own points, but Stokes’ missed defence under the basket allowed Chini Ogumike to score back-to-back points. A three-pointer from Carly Samuelson, who also played in the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers against South Korea, gave Las Vegas a 36-46 halftime lead.

After a steady 10-point deficit, Las Vegas turned the tide in the third quarter when Wilson exploded.

With his offence struggling, Wilson was called for a technical foul for protesting a call and then drew a flagrant foul for striking an opponent who was holding him during a screen. But she was undaunted.

Slowly regaining his scoring touch, Wilson missed a free throw on an end-one opportunity, but grabbed the rebound himself and converted it into a four-point play.

Wilson’s resurgence added to the power of Young, who had the best scoring touch of the game. Back-to-back baskets turned the tide. Las Vegas took a 61-59 lead.

Back-to-back baskets by Gray made it 67-63 to end the third quarter, and a three-pointer by Alicia Clark gave the Lakers the lead for good.

Free throws by Hamby and a steal by Brown kept LA close, but Young hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Young hit another 3-pointer after a Samuelson triple and a Jordyn Canada steal as LA closed the gap.

Wilson and Young calmly converted free throws drawn from opposing fouls to give Las Vegas its second straight win to open the season. Las Vegas and Los Angeles will play a rematch in two days. This is the home opener of the season for Las Vegas.

Phoenix Mercury (1 W, 2 L) 90-81 Minnesota Lynx메이저사이트 (3 L)
(Footprint Centre, Phoenix, Arizona)
Diana Turasi 32:03 23 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists 3P:4/9
Brittany Griner 30:51 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks
Alesia Sutton 35:49 14 points, 3 assists
Sophie Cunningham 24:16 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists 3P:3/8
Moriah Jefferson 26:48 13 points 3P:3/5 (over Phoenix)
Aerial Powers 24:07 20 points, 4 rebounds
Diamond Miller 26:04 13 points
Jessica Shepherd 30:12 13 points 3 rebounds
Tiffany Mitchell 31:16 12 points, 4 assists (over Minnesota)

A double-double from Diana Turrash (23 points, 10 assists) gave Phoenix its first win of the season. After opening the game with three-pointers from Mikaela Onyenweiler and Sophie Cunningham, Phoenix jumped out to an early lead with Turasi leading the offence.

Minnesota rallied behind Jessica Shepherd and Nafisa Collier, but Phoenix, who hit 11 three-pointers in the first half alone, built a 17-point lead and never looked back.

Turasi and Moriah Jefferson combined for 28 points in the first half, hitting three 3-pointers apiece, while Brittney Griner dominated on the boards, outrebounding Minnesota 57-40.

But their outside shooting dropped off in the second half, allowing Minnesota to pull away behind Tiffany Mitchell’s scoring. After going scoreless for about three minutes at the start of the third quarter, Phoenix got a break with a free throw from Griner and maintained the lead with free throws from Turasi and a basket from Alicia Sutton.

After Nicolina Milicic and Powers seemed to turn the tide, Minnesota gave up a basket to Sophie Cunningham after a missed baseline pass, and Phoenix continued its dominance with a three-pointer from Turacci and a basket from Griner.

Leading 72-62 after three quarters, Phoenix kept the lead within 10 points the rest of the way in the fourth quarter, pushing Minnesota to its third straight loss.