A'ja Wilson's game winner leads Aces to 3-0 series lead vs. Mercury

League MVP A'ja Wilson hit a seven-foot fadeaway jumper with three-tenths of a second remaining to cap her third double-double of the series and the Las Vegas Aces survived a furious Phoenix comeback for a 90-88 victory over the host Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA playoffs Wednesday. Wilson had 34 points and 14 rebounds, Jackie Young had 21 points and Jewell Loyd had 16 as the Aces took a 3-0 lead in the league's first best-of-seven championship series to move within one game of their third WNBA title in the last four seasons. Wilson took an entry pass from Chelsea Gray and shot from the left side of the lane over Alyssa Thomas for the game-winner. Thomas had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Satou Sabally had 24 points before leaving with an apparent head injury with 4:26 remaining and DeWanna Bonner had 25 for the Mercury. Thomas found Bonner at the foul line extended on the Mercury's final play, but Bonner's catch-and-shoot drew iron but did not fall. The Mercury will try to dig out of a 3-0 hole starting in Game 4 on Friday. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only major professional sports team in history to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win a championship series. Chelsea Gray had 11 points, five assists, three steals and three blocks on her 33rd birthday for the Aces, who had eight blocked shots. Kahleah Copper scored 11 straight Phoenix points in the fourth quarter as the Mercury rallied from a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 86 on Bonner's 3-pointer. Gray hit a layup and Bonner made two free throws to set up the final sequence. The Aces opened the game as if their third WNBA championship in four years was just a matter of time. Loyd entered three minutes into the first quarter and quickly took center stage, making four 3-pointers in less than two minutes. The last, with 3:48 left, capped a 17-0 Aces' run for a 21-8 lead. The Mercury came back with a 13-0 run of their own to tie the game at 21 on DeWanna Bonner's 3-pointer. Sabally had 13 points in the first quarter, which ended with the Aces taking a 26-23 lead. Young's 3-pointer three minutes into the second quarter made it 36-29 and forced a Phoenix timeout. Wilson's 3-point play gave the Aces a 44-36 lead with four minutes left in the half, and the Aces used a late 11-2 run for a 55-43 halftime lead. Young had nine points in the second quarter. The Aces made nine of 16 3-pointers in the first half after going 17 of 50 from distance in Games 1-2. Loyd had four and Dana Evans had two, also off the bench. Wilson scored nine straight Las Vegas points midway through the third quarter as the Aces opened a 68-52 lead. Loyd made two free throws with 27.2 seconds left in the third for a 76-59 lead after three quarters, their largest, after being struck in the face by Kahleah Copper on a scramble under the Mercury basket. She was tended to on the bench but returned as the foul was reviewed. –Field Level Media

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