A’ja Wilson scored 38 points to tie a playoff career high, Jackie Young had a go-ahead putback with 12.4 seconds left, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm, 74-73, on Thursday night to secure a spot in the WNBA semifinals.
Wilson, who had 25 points in the second half, had a layup roll off the rim with 25 seconds left and Erica Wheeler raced the other way on a 2-on-1 break with Skylar Diggins. Wheeler pulled up in the lane to sink a jumper to give Seattle a 73-72 lead with 18 seconds remaining.
Wilson missed another shot, but Young was there for the putback. After a timeout to get to midcourt, Wheeler had a good look from the free throw line that hit off the back rim and Seattle could not get off another shot before the buzzer.
Las Vegas secured its seventh consecutive semifinal appearance. The second-seeded Aces advance to play on Sunday against No. 6 Indiana, which eliminated Atlanta.
Young finished with 14 points and Chelsea Gray had 12 points and eight assists for Las Vegas. Wilson, who was 14 of 26 from the field and 10 of 11 at the line, scored 30-plus points in a playoff game for the sixth time in her career — tied for the second-most in WNBA history.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half for Seattle. Wheeler also scored 16 and Diggins added 13.
Diggins made a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner with 1:14 remaining to give Seattle a 71-70 lead, its first since it was 24-23. After a timeout, Wilson made a shot in the lane to regain the lead.
Fever 87, Dream 85 — Aliyah Boston made the go-ahead basket with 7.4 seconds left, Lexie Hull stole the ensuing inbounds pass and the Indiana beat third-seeded Atlanta.
Despite missing Caitlin Clark among its injured players, Indiana closed on a 7-0 run to win a playoff series for the first time since 2015.
Boston was left alone under the basket for an easy layup after Brionna Jones went to the ground going for a loose ball. It gave Indiana an 86-85 lead, its first since it was 33-30 in the second quarter.
Rhyne Howard twice had trouble inbounding the ball in the final seconds, with Hull coming from behind to poke it away from Jones. Indiana got it to Odyssey Sims, who went 1 of 2 at the free throw line to give Atlanta another shot with 1.2 left. Jones’s off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 24 points and Boston had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Sims had 16 points and eight assists, and Natasha Howard added 12 points.
Allisha Gray had 19 points and 12 rebounds for her first playoff double-double to lead Atlanta. Jordin Canada also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and Jones had 12.
Boston native Shey Peddy made a 3-pointer with 6:06 remaining in the fourth to pull Indiana within 80-78. Neither team scored again until the 3:21 mark on Brianna Turner’s putback to tie it.
Atlanta has not won a playoff series since 2016.