Mateo’s Hoop Diary: A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young took over Game 2 of the Finals, putting Las Vegas ahead 2-0 going to Phoenix

Jackie Young is public enemy no.1 in Phoenix after lashing the Mercury for 21 of her 32 points in the third quarter, the most in any 10-minute interval in WNBA Finals history, and helping the Aces take an enormous 2-0 lead.  

The Aces smothered the visitors before intermission as A’ja Wilson sullied schemes and quickly took a double-digit lead in the third. Young erupted then, converting long jumpers, drive-bys and freebies. 

They could have started the plane early because the Mercury never cut their deficit below eight for the rest of the period and they were shattered starting the fourth below 15. Subsequently Jewell Loyd, whose season began as a turbulent ride, connected on a right-side triple to start the fourth that emotionally felt like a leg hook that breaks a jaw. Many times when it gets this ugly in the ring, a corner will throw in the towel or the ref will show mercy and intervene, but the Mercury were not so fortunate. 

Kahleah Copper was invisible in the fourth, and Satou Sabally’s 10 digits hardly made a dent as the Aces matched them. On top of that, Alyssa Thomas followed up on her late-game failure in the series opener with minuscule impact in the second half: two points on two attempts, with four helpings and two steals. She ran from the line and was predictable, always looking for the pass.

But Game 2 started getting away from Phoenix midway through the second quarter. The Aces held them 10 points on a skimpy 27.8% shooting, which included zero connections from deep in seven tries.

Coach Becky Hammon said winning with below-average performances from Wilson and Young makes them tough, but they looked far from that description. Both powered up at the right time and stayed out of each other’s way for maximum potency. They finished with the second-most combined points (60) by a duo in WNBA Finals history. 

Game 3 is on Wednesday. Reputations for the Phoenix squad are on the line because the Aces sized them up, and they look like they’ve figured them out.  One side prepares for redemption and the other for an execution.