{"id":161452,"date":"2025-10-05T12:53:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T16:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=161452"},"modified":"2025-10-05T12:53:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T16:53:20","slug":"aces-take-commanding-2-0-lead-2025-wnba-finals-plus-other-top-bets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/05\/aces-take-commanding-2-0-lead-2025-wnba-finals-plus-other-top-bets\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Aces Take Commanding 2-0 Lead Over Mercury In 2025 WNBA Finals? Plus, Other Top Bets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Las Vegas Aces<\/a> took the first step to capture their third WNBA<\/a> title with a 89-86 comeback victory over<\/a> the Phoenix Mercury<\/a> last night. Can the Aces take a commanding 2-0 series lead?<\/p>\n

Can Aces Take Commanding 2-0 Lead Over Mercury In 2025 WNBA Finals? Plus, Other Top Bets<\/h2>\n

In a very competitive game, the Aces trailed 76-70 with 8:42 left in the quarter. But, the Aces outscored the Mercury 19-10 the rest of the way as coach Becky Hammons<\/a> switched to a zone defense. Overall, the Mercury made just 6 of 18 shots from the field and 2 of 12 from the 3-point line in the final stanza. The Mercury entered the fourth shooting 52.1%, including 50% from 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was seeing them score too much against our man (defense),\u201d Hammon said<\/a>, explaining why she switched defenses. \u201cI thought them getting the ball in the paint, whether it was off a pass or penetration, was really hurting us. It was putting us at a significant disadvantage on the back end with those 3s. So, just tried something different, so we didn’t give up the middle so easily. We were able to fan out a little better and find those shooters.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Phoenix couldn’t buy a bucket, A’ja Wilson<\/a> was dominant over the last 12 minutes. Wilson scored 14 points, including in the fourth quarter, over this stretch while Dana Evans<\/a> knocked down a trio of three pointers in the final stanza as the pair outscored the Mercury 19-16 in the frame.<\/p>\n

Wilson finished with a 21-point,1o-rebound double-double while also adding five assists, one steal, and two blocks. Meanwhile, Evans had 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting, and Jewell Loyd<\/a> contributed 18 points to help the Aces reserve outscore the Mercury bench 41-16. Evans was 5 of 6 from deep and recorded four steals, becoming the first player to post those stats in Finals history.<\/p>\n

Takeaways From Game 1<\/h3>\n

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