Las Vegas Aces Thwarted a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter phoenix mercury To win in the 2025 WNBA Finals win 97-86 in Game 4 – and win their third championship in four years.
Aces’ 30-point game Aja Wilson and Mercury’s Kahlah Copper To train Nate Tibbetts’ evictIt was an eventful 40 minutes in Phoenix. Below, ESPN reporters summarize how it all happened.
jump to: analysis in sports
How aces won the title
The Big Three delivered.
The Aces and Mercury entered the finals with three players each, with heavy reliance on each. Wilson’s collaboration led to the historic demonstration jackie young And chelsea grayAces’ Big Three outperformed Mercury Trio alyssa thomas, Satou Sabli And Kahlah CopperWilson finished with 31 points and nine rebounds in Game 4. Young, who scored 32 in Game 2, had an 18-point, eight-assist Game 4. And Gray, with several big 3-pointers, also had 18 points. The Mercury never had any answers, especially for Wilson, who averaged 28.5 points in the series.
A hot start by Vegas with nine 3-pointers in the first half created another big early lead that Phoenix could not overcome, despite a second-half run.
The Aces were 14–14 in early August and then lost in the opening round against the Seattle Storm and in the semifinals against the Indiana Fever. But by the time the finals arrived, the Aces were getting general consistency from Wilson and Young, as well as the best versions of Gray and the reserves. jewel lloyd And dana evans,
A sweep seemed unlikely when this series began, but the Aces performed well in every aspect and emerged winners for the third time.
What Mercury will take away from this series
It’s happening here.
There generally aren’t too many positive things that come out of a sweep: maybe the comebacks in Games 3 and 4, plus Copper’s 30 points on Friday. But ultimately the biggest thing that Mercury can point to at this point is that they’ve made it this far. This should be the focus of their offseason.
Replacing all but two players — and making the necessary adjustments while bringing in stars like Thomas and Sabally — is a credit to the entire organization. The way they bounced back after losing both their opening games in the first two rounds is a testament to what was built in the desert. After dropping a tough Game 3 – and losing Sabally to a concussion – the Mercury did not have enough time left for Game 4. Nevertheless, the franchise took a huge leap forward with this postseason run.
1:16
A’ja Wilson receives the WNBA Finals MVP trophy
A’ja Wilson is presented with the WNBA Finals trophy by Commissioner Kathy Engelbert.
How did Wilson deliver another MVP performance?
As she finishes a season, her game continues to grow. Wilson is now the first player in WNBA or NBA history to win MVP, scoring title, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season.
Wilson is excellent on both ends and in all aspects of the game, especially knowing where to be on the floor and being able to score in a variety of ways. She now has a WNBA-record 10 30-point games in her playoff career. His 114 points in these four games were the most in the final.
Double-teams didn’t slow him down. It was also not a good idea to run different defenders at him. Wilson’s game-winning shot in Game 3 will forever be in Aces history, but it was his steadfast approach and ability to deliver possession after possession that led Las Vegas to its third title in four years. — Charlie Cream
analysis in sports
game 4 preview
The following was published before the Aces defeated the Mercury in Game 4 on Friday night.
with Satou Sabli Sidelined, what adjustments can Mercury make? Who should move forward?
Alexa Filippou: Mercury can either start from Bonar or Sami Whitcomb In place of Sabli, or both may be approved natasha mack Comes off the bench. After Sabally went down, Phoenix switched to the same lineup, with Whitcomb checking for Sabally and Mack sitting in Bonner’s place for the entire second half.
While Bonner had his most impressive performance of the series with 25 points in Game 3, including five straight for Phoenix to close out the game, Whitcomb has been a non-factor against Las Vegas. He has scored just six points on 2-of-16 shooting in this series and hasn’t gotten on the board since Game 1. The Mercury could definitely use their scoring punch from deep to get some juice offensively.
Kendra Andrews: Alexa is right that the Mercury need more from their bench, but there is added pressure on Thomas and Kahlah Copper,
For most of these playoffs, the Mercury have gone the same way Thomas – their “engine” – has gone. And so far his dominance against the Aces has not been at the same level as it was in the final. His postseason averages of 18.6 points and 9.1 assists dropped to 13.0 points and 7.7 assists in this series.
In Game 4, Thomas will have to bring a more controlled physicality, where she can dominate her defender – or whoever she’s defending – but not get called for fouls, so she can get to the spots where she thrives and get possessions.
In the first three games of the finals, Copper has scored 21, 23 and 17 points respectively. Without Sabally’s team-high 21.6 points per game (in this series), the Mercury will need Copper’s cutting and finishing even more.
Where have the Mercury struggled defensively?
Andrews: Cooper said the Mercury lost some of its connectivity and communications on the defensive end. They entered the finals with the highest defensive rating in the postseason, allowing 75.9 points per game to opponents. But he gave up 89 points in Game 1, 91 points in Game 2, and 90 points in Game 3 of this series.
It would be unfair to say that their biggest priority is everything on defense, but as soon as they solve one problem, another pops up. In Game 3, their first half issue was defending the 3-point shot. The Aces got what they wanted from distance, hitting nine 3s in the first 20 minutes, seven of which were uncontested – the most 3s they’ve hit in a half and the most uncontested 3s they’ve taken all season.
The mercury was also one step lower at closing time on Wednesday. They were also slow on loose balls, holding the Aces to 12 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.
At this point in the season, the Mercury cannot afford to lack connectivity on defense or “lose the edge”, as Thomas said they did in Game 3.
Charlie Cream: Looking at the way Wilson is playing and shooting from the Las Vegas perimeter, Phoenix coach Nate Tibbets is stuck in a strategic conundrum. When he defends Wilson with one player, which has been the case for most of the series, the other four Phoenix defenders must stop the rest of the Aces’ attack. Wilson Cooking is one thing, but when jackie young And chelsea gray are, also — or dana evans And jewel lloyd Are Producing – Neither team has many chances against the Aces.
Another option is to consistently throw double-teams at Wilson, preventing Young’s defender from getting help elsewhere – and then hope the Aces don’t miss open looks. Hope is never a good strategy, but Mercury will need a lot of good luck to get back in this series.
If Tibet employs any of these philosophies, it must be a total commitment. Playing somewhere in the middle leaves too many holes in the defence, as we have seen in the first three games.
What have been the X factors in the first three matches?
Cream: Heading into this series, I thought the championship would be decided by the games of each team’s top three players. For the most part, it has played out the same way – Wilson and Young have been the best players of the series. But there have been two helpful aspects of this matchup that have contributed greatly to Las Vegas’ success.
One is 3-point shooting: Las Vegas has made 12 more 3s than Phoenix and shot them at a higher percentage (35.1% to 25.0%). The second is bench production: The Aces’ bench outscored the Mercury’s reserves 79-51 – and nearly half of Phoenix’s total came from Bonner in Game 3. (We’ve already outlined Whitcomb’s struggles above.)
Loyd may feel like a de facto starter (he’s averaged more than 31 minutes per game), but his move into a reserve role was key to the Aces’ turnaround this season, and that’s continued into the postseason. He has made nine 3-pointers in three Finals games and is averaging 14.3 points. Evans’ 21 points in Game 1 – many of which came via 5-of-6 shooting from deep – was a big reason for Las Vegas’ good start.
With better performing stars, more productive reserves and more accurate shooting, it’s no surprise that Las Vegas is on the verge of a title.
