How the Aces defeated the Mercury

The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces defeated the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury 89-86 successful Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals connected Friday.

Dana Evans scored 21 points disconnected the seat for the Aces, matching the crippled precocious of four-time MVP A'ja Wilson and Mercury prima Kahleah Copper. Alyssa Thomas, who was 1 assistance shy of a triple-double, missed a brace of escaped throws successful the last minute.

Here's what you request to cognize astir the bid opener up of Sunday's Game 2 (3 p.m. ET connected ABC).

Jump to: Real-time tracker

How the Aces won

Behind a ascendant effort from their bench.

Dana Evans tied 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper and this season's MVP A'ja Wilson for game-high honors -- she had 21 points, making 5 3-pointers successful six attempts. Jewell Loyd besides added 18 points, making them the archetypal brace of teammates with astatine slightest 15 points arsenic reserves successful a Finals crippled since 2019, per ESPN Research.

Loyd's 10 first-quarter points were important to keeping Las Vegas successful the game. Phoenix got disconnected to a 10-2 start, starring Becky Hammon to rapidly summon Loyd into the crippled successful spot of starter Kierstan Bell, who played conscionable 5 minutes total. Evans besides helped the Aces support gait with the hot-shooting Mercury, who enactment up 50 points successful the archetypal half.

Still, Evans' biggest contributions came down the stretch. She made 3 3-pointers successful the last 8 minutes. The past of those gave Las Vegas its biggest pb to that constituent astatine 85-82, identical to the last margin.

All told, the Aces got 41 points from their reserves, the franchise's astir ever successful a Finals crippled and tied for their second-most successful immoderate 2025 game, regular play oregon playoffs.

How the Mercury lost

Phoenix volition astir apt walk the 40-plus hours earlier Game 2 lamenting letting an accidental to bargain home-court vantage successful the bid get away. The Mercury led for astir the full crippled and changeable 39% connected 3s to the Aces' 33%, outscoring them by 15 points beyond the arc contempt Evans' heroics.

Phoenix was done successful chiefly by turnover differential. The Mercury committed 14, including 5 for Alyssa Thomas, who came wrong an assistance of a triple-double but struggled with the speedy hands of Las Vegas' smaller defenders. Meanwhile, the Aces' 7 turnovers tied the fewest ever by a squad successful a Finals game.

Beyond that, Phoenix volition regret being outshot 20-13 from the foul line. In a adjacent game, Satou Sabally's method foul for slamming the shot to the tribunal aft being called for her 5th foul aboriginal successful the last play loomed large.

Of course, nary escaped throws were much achy than Thomas' precocious travel to the enactment with the Mercury down one. With a chance...