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INDIANAPOLIS -- It was the rare game where Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson didn't have MVP-type scoring. Yet she still had MVP impact. Las Vegas beat the Indiana Fever 84-72 on Friday, taking a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series. With one more victory, Las Vegas will advance to the WNBA Finals for the third time in four years. The Aces won the title in 2022 and 2023. They got the job done in Game 3 led by 25 points from Jackie Young, 15 from fellow guard Chelsea Gray and 16 from forward NaLyssa Smith. Guard Dana Evans also had 10 crucial points off the bench for Las Vegas. All that helped the Aces prevail, even though Wilson had just 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting. That was her lowest point total in these playoffs and far off her regular-season average of 23.4 points per game, which led the WNBA. Yet Wilson's defense was a huge factor in holding the Fever to 35.6% shooting (26-of-73). Wilson, who had three blocks, and Smith combined to keep the Fever to 4-of-22 shooting (18.2%) when either of them contested a shot, according to ESPN Research. Indiana was 3-of-10 against Smith and 1-of-12 against Wilson, who was the WNBA co-Defensive Player of the Year this season along with winning her fourth MVP. "It just shows she's human," Smith said of Wilson's offensive struggles. "I mean, the way she's been playing this season, it's hard to tell she's human. We're all going to have those [rough] games. That's when we have to step up and pour into her ... give a little bit more. "But we still feed off her. I told her at halftime, 'We won't win this game without you.' So even though her offense wasn't where she wanted it to be, her defense was still on. She's still that person we need on the floor." Smith had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks. She was drafted by the Fever at No. 2 in 2022 and spent her first three seasons in Indiana before going to Dallas via trade prior to this season. She was traded to Las Vegas on June 30, a move she has said brought back her love of basketball. Asked if she had any extra motivation playing against her former team Friday in Indiana, Smith said that wasn't what was pushing her. "I just want to win a championship," Smith said. "So I'm going to do what I gotta do to get there." Aces coach Becky Hammon said Wilson was a little rushed in the first half, when she shot 1-of-11 from the field and wasn't getting her usual looks. But Wilson converted 5 of 9 attempts in the second half, and the Aces dominated the fourth quarter 25-16. Hammon added that Smith took advantage of all the defensive attention on Wilson. "That's why Lyss was eating good in the neighborhood: She was diving in behind, and we were getting some layups off of it," Hammon said. "That's why you like to play with good players, because their presence opens up everybody else." Young, a key part of the Aces' 2022 and 2023 championships, was one off her career playoff high in points while shooting 9-of-14 from the field. She had 5 rebounds and 4 assists. She was also part of the defensive effort that frustrated Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 21 points but was 8-of-26 from the field. "It takes a full team effort," Young said of guarding Mitchell. "Everybody's going to get switched onto her. She's a lot to handle, obviously." But so is Young, an Indiana native and Notre Dame grad playing again in her home state Friday. "She's a strong guard who does a really great job of using her screeners -- using A'ja, using NaLyssa," Fever guard Lexie Hull said of Young. "And we end up trailing on that. So that's going to be a big focus on me and on whoever's guarding her next game." Hull had the most efficient game of any Indiana player, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Coach Stephanie White said the Fever know exactly what they must do to win Game 4 on Sunday and extend the series to Game 5 back in Las Vegas. "Vegas is who they are for a reason," White said. "I thought we had a lot of good opportunities. I felt like we had more open shots in this game that we had in the last one. Our ball movement was better. Our ability to track and make reads was better. [The shots] just didn't go in."
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