The Minnesota Lynx recorded a significant victory against the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night, 98-87. Vegas has now lost two of three since the Olympic break, and the frustration is visible.
During a live ESPN interview at the end of the third quarter, with her team down 78-67, Aces star Kelsey Plum basically accused the refs of cheating for the road team.
“I’ve sucked. It’s been brutal.” said Plum, who was 9 of 16 for 20 points, but just 2-for-7 from the arc. I’m frustrated, “I don’t feel like the officiating is both sides even, they move on all their screens, they roll down,” Plum added, but also admitting, “I have to be better in the fourth quarter.”
After the game, Plum was less vocal about the officiating, but did offer a reason why the Aces have lost two of three games coming off the Olympic break where a bunch of the Aces players were participants in Paris for various countries.
“Obviously, people have had a month off and six of us haven’t. That’s not an excuse, giving credit to them. …I t felt nasty tonight. … I’m probably going to get fined, but … it’s hard because I don’t feel it’s consistent the way [the refs] call the game,” Plum said.
A’Ja Wilson Had Worst Game Of The Year
If Plum’s beef was with anybody it had to be with A’ja Wilson, who picked the wrong matchup to have a subpar game, but she’s human and she’s played nonstop basketball during the first half of the season and the Olympics, where she won MVP. So she’s allowed an off night.
The all-world performer was rendered a non-factor by the third quarter and probably had her worst game of the season with just 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Plum might not like the physicality that the refs allowed, but even she admitted that the team “has to be tougher.”
We Saw Best Version Of Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota had too many weapons, and they shot a blistering 59.4% from the floor in this one, with everybody dropping shots, from point guard Coutney Williams (22 points) — who also had 10 assists and seven rebounds — to new pickup Myisha Hines-Allen and sharpshooter Alana Smith (10 points).
“We don’t play the sexiest brand of basketball, but it’s effective,” said Williams, who only had one turnover.
Bridget Carleton added 12 points, Kayla McBride had 11, giving the Lynx (20-8) five starters in double figures as Cheryl Reeve has her team rolling and is at the top of her game, fresh off a gold medal coaching job in Paris. What we saw was the Lynx at their best.
Napheesa Collier was coming off a 30-point game against the Washington Mystics and had another efficient game, leading Minnesota with 23 points.
Collier, who is fourth in the league in scoring and rebounding and second in steals to Arike Ogunbowale, is the top MVP candidate not named A’ja Smith and recorded another 20-and-10 night. She leads the league in such games and is only one of two players (along with A’ja Wilson) to average a double-double of that caliber.
The defense was spearheaded by McBride, who also delivered from long range as one of the league’s premier three-point shooters and was aggressive at the point of attack. Hines-Allen mixed it up with Wilson and anybody else who entered the post.
Can Las Vegas Aces Three-Peat?
Three-peating is an almost impossible task in pro hoops, and the Aces are finding out how hard that task is. Blaming the refs isn’t the way champions get down, and Plum knows that. Head coach Becky Hammon looked ticked off the entire game.
Is it panic time in Vegas?
