The Las Vegas Aces extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 13 games Thursday night as they defeated the Minnesota Lynx 97-87 at T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas.
At 27-14, the Aces are in a three-way tie for second place with the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury. But based on their regular-season results, the Aces hold the tiebreaker against both teams.
Minnesota (32-9) already has the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
But being the No. 2 seed, with the chance to avoid the Lynx until a potential WNBA Finals matchup, is a goal the Aces still can attain.
The Aces had lost their previous three meetings against the Lynx, including a 111-58 blowout Aug. 2 that dropped them to 14-14. That game became the turning point in their season, and they haven't lost since.
"We got embarrassed the last time we played them," Aces guard Chelsea Gray said of the Lynx. "It was pretty cut and dried."
But even then, Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said she knew that if her team could put the pieces together, it could go on a run. Las Vegas has the longest winning streak in the WNBA since the Connecticut Sun won 14 in a row in 2021.
"When you're losing, you have to fight off human nature to question yourself," Hammon said. "You have to stay really resolute in what you believe. There's a certain way I believe this team has to play to win, and you really just have to stick to it.
"Even though we were losing games, I told them multiple times, 'We're so close to turning that corner. And once that corner is turned, it's going to be scary.'"
The rest of the league likely is concerned with how well the two-time WNBA champions have played for the past month. A'ja Wilson, who scored 31 points Thursday to tie a league record with her 12th game of 30 or more points in a season, has led the way. She was 12-of-15 from the field and added eight rebounds against the Lynx. Jackie Young had 20 points for Las Vegas, while Gray had 13 points and 10 assists.
Wilson is making a strong case for her fourth MVP award. The other top contenders are Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, who had 12 points and six rebounds in the loss, and Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas, who had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists in the Mercury's 75-69 victory at Washington on Thursday.
"We really had to learn how to believe in each other," Wilson said of how the Aces have changed their trajectory since early August. "Even Becky ... she was like, 'You guys have to figure it out,' because it is on us."
Hammon said she has not been paying much attention to the streak but rather to continuing to move up the standings. The Aces have three regular-season games remaining: two at home against Chicago and then at Los Angeles.
"We're just about the next game," Hammon said. "We'll let you guys keep track of [the winning streak]."