Las Vegas, NV—–A’ja Wilson delivered a dominant 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Dana Evans provided a game-changing boost off the bench as the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Atlanta Dream 87-72 on Tuesday night, marking their third consecutive win — their longest streak of the season.
Evans was a key contributor, scoring the first nine points of the second quarter to propel the Aces into the lead, which they never relinquished. She finished the game with 14 points. Jackie Young also chipped in 14 points for Las Vegas (12-11), which now faces a challenging stretch with four consecutive road games ahead. NaLyssa Smith added 11 points to further bolster the Aces’ scoring.
Allisha Gray paced the Dream (13-10) with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Jordan Canada contributed 12 points. However, Atlanta was without its star guard, All-Star Rhyne Howard, who is sidelined with a knee injury. Howard missed the last two games before the All-Star break and is expected to be out for at least four more.
The Dream showed some fight late in the game. Te-Hina Paopao hit a 3-pointer to bring Atlanta within six at 68-62 with just under 8 minutes remaining. But the Aces quickly responded with a 7-0 run to stretch their lead back to 13, and Atlanta could not get any closer.
The Dream had an early advantage, leading 27-20 after the first quarter. Gray’s 12 points helped spark a 15-3 run to close the period, and Atlanta capitalized on 5 of 8 shooting from behind the arc. The Dream also had a +8 advantage from the free-throw line, but their shooting cooled in the second half. Over the final three quarters, they managed just 4 of 19 from beyond the arc and shot 38.5% from the field overall.
Evans’ second-quarter explosion helped flip the momentum. Her 11 points in the period, combined with a strong 25-12 Aces run, gave Las Vegas a 45-39 lead at halftime. The Aces continued to build on that momentum, extending their advantage to 14 midway through the third quarter. The Dream fought back but only narrowed the gap to 67-59 heading into the final frame.
Las Vegas controlled the game in the second half, with the Dream unable to threaten again. The win puts the Aces on a solid trajectory as they head into their upcoming road trip.
