A'ja Wilson plays with an inevitability. That no matter the matchup, she's going to get her 25ish points, 10ish rebounds, and a highlight-reel compilation of contributions on defence.
That sense of certainty has translated to the Las Vegas Aces as a whole — that once they went on their 17-game win streak to end the season, there wouldn't be enough in the way to stop them from a third title in four years.
It was an absolute fight, as the Mercury clawed back down 17 to tie the game up late in the fourth, but Wilson delivered, as she has all season long, to send the Aces to a 90-88 win in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
Now, one win stands between the Aces and legend. One more MVP-worthy performance stands between Wilson and an undeniable place in the pantheon. One basket, like it did tonight, could stand between Las Vegas and a place amongst the dynasties of the 2010s Minnesota Lynx and the inaugural Houston Comets.
And one player won't let anything get in the way.
Wilson was unstoppable in Game 3 — she has been for the series as a whole — but you may not have even realized it had you not been paying attention. Her buckets come with ease. Her game blends physicality with finesse, draining simple looks over complicated defences.
She finished the game with 34 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, breaking the record for most points in a post-season run (291), most multi-block games in post-season history (38) and most 30-point playoff games in WNBA history (nine).
Close your eyes for a second and she's in the double digits as she nails turnaround bankshots over Natasha Mack or Alyssa Thomas or whoever else the Mercury want to send her way. She uses obscene footwork to get around the long arms of DeWanna Bonner with ease, navigating the jungle of limbs like Bear Grylls with a machete.
But on the last basket, as everyone's eyes watched her and her alone without blinking, she delivered, getting her body into Bonner's to secure her spot in the high post, pivoting on her left foot and, in one simple movement, pulling up for a fadeaway middy over a double team. Without a doubt, the basket fell with 0.1 to go, stifling a magnificent Mercury rally and putting her team on the brink of a dynasty.
That's what the greatest WNBA player ever does. That's why the greatest stonemasons are chiselling her face into Mount Rushmore. That's why, no matter the situation or score, the Aces and Wilson are inevitable.
Mercury as close as it gets to the sun
Down 17 heading into the fourth quarter, it was hard not to count the Mercury out.
Though they came away with the loss in the end, they silenced doubters with a stunning effort in the final frame, crushing the Aces 29-14, keeping the Phoenix crowd on its feet until the final whistle, and instilling hope into the Mercury faithful that if there's one team that may be able to pull it off, it's them.
Rookie Monique Akoa Makani got the run started for the Mercury, as she nailed a catch-and-shoot triple in the corner off a drive-and-kick from Satou Sabally.
With the lead still in the double digits, the Mercury leaned heavily on three-pointers, and the Aces knew it was coming, as they moved away from the box-and-one they had been running to instead play more dedicated man defence.
That gave the Mercury more space down low, which they parlayed into driving lanes for their physical forwards, with Bonner, Thomas and Sabally attacking the paint to force contact or sink open layups.
Bonner, who had struggled in Games 1 and 2, showed her resilience in this one, starting the third quarter and scoring nine of her team-high 25 points in the fourth.
Midway through the frame it still felt far-fetched that the Mercury would complete the rally. But Kahleah Copper sowed seeds of doubt into the Aces with an incredible nine-point run to cut Las Vegas' lead to one.
From that point on, the game turned into a slugfest: Jackie Young hit her free throws to bring it back to a three-point lead, but Bonner responded with a clutch 25-foot stepback triple. Chelsea Gray used her physicality to back down the smaller Makani, but Bonner got to the line on the next possession after an offensive rebound to tie it right back up at 88.
With 17 seconds left, the game felt destined for overtime, especially after the Mercury held out well to start the Aces' final possession. But a timeout and a Wilson bucket later, and the Mercury's rally was all for naught.
Now, as the series stays in Phoenix for Game 4, it's hard to envision the Mercury not kicking themselves, knowing full well this series could be 2-1 in their favour as opposed to 3-0. So close yet so far, something Bonner and Thomas — the former All-Star duo of the Connecticut Sun — know plenty about.
Three of a kind
Though it hasn't been their modus operandi this series, when the Aces turn up the heat from deep, boy does it get hot.
Much like they did in Game 1, Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd provided a spark from deep off the bench, particularly in the first half.
Loyd got the hot hand early, netting four straight three-pointers midway through the first quarter, punctuating a ridiculous 17-0 run for the Aces right off the bat and reminding the Phoenix crowd that she's a WNBA scoring champ and a six-time All-Star.
Her makes came in every which way, nailing catch-and-shoot looks after the Aces swung the ball around the perimeter, pulling up after relocating off a screen and sinking makes from the corner in transition after her underappreciated defensive impact helped force turnovers.
She became the first player in WNBA post-season history to nail four triples in the first quarter, setting the tone for the Aces' first-half offensive barrage.
Though they moved away from Loyd and Evans as the game went on, the mark was made. The Mercury were forced to close out a little harder on their rotations to the perimeter, even though Young went one-for-seven from deep. Any make from that point on would feel like a dagger, particularly when the Mercury's three-point shooting was nowhere to be seen until the fourth quarter.
In establishing a presence from range, the Aces reminded the Mercury just how terrifying they can be when all the right buttons are being pressed, and Loyd — despite the criticism the Aces received for their blockbuster off-season trade — has been a huge part of that through this series.
