Fever show no letdown after Cup win, overpower Aces with defense and connectivity
Indiana blows out Las Vegas by 27 for first win in series since 2019 — holding Aces to 26% shooting and riding another big night from Mitchell and Boston.
The Indiana Fever didn’t let the emotional high from Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup championship carry over in a negative way. They celebrated hard — as they should — after a 15-point win in Minnesota as 11-point underdogs. They won the in-season Cup, and each player earned a bonus worth about $43,000.
But they were back in Indianapolis by 3 a.m. Wednesday — and at practice that afternoon.
Head coach Stephanie White viewed it as a crucial test for a young team still coming together and learning how to handle success. This was important for their growth process.
“That game was great,” White said. “The Commissioner's Cup, we won a trophy. They won some money. But it doesn't mean anything in the whole scheme of where we want to be. … We want to be able to enjoy these moments when they happen and then quickly refocus and reframe.”
They passed the test.
The Fever led the Las Vegas Aces (8–9) — who have had a disappointing and in consistent season — by seven after one quarter, then blew it open in the second with an 8-0 run while A’ja Wilson was on the bench receiving treatment for her right shoulder. Wilson was the only Aces player who came to play — and it wasn’t close.
She was the only Aces player to score more than six points.
The only one to make more than two field goals.
She finished 9-of-18 from the field; the rest of the team went 7-of-43.
By halftime, Wilson had 17 of the team’s 24 points. She finished with 29 of their 54.
“They busted our ass in every kind of way,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said postgame.” There's just no two bones about it. It's one of the worst games I've ever seen.”
That’s been the story of their season. Even before the game, she began her session with reporters saying “At some point we got to stop shooting ourselves in foot and start stacking some Ws.”
Instead, the Fever outscored the Aces 25–10 in the second quarter and rolled to an 81–54 blowout win — their first victory over Las Vegas in 17 tries.
The last one? Aug. 27, 2019.
One player who remembers is guard Kelsey Mitchell — she’s been with Indiana through the highs and lows.
“I was reminding the team,” she said after leading the Fever with 25 points.