Becky Hammon didn’t mince words after the Las Vegas Aces outlasted the Minnesota Lynx 100-97 on Saturday night. The win snapped Minnesota’s eight-game winning streak and extended the Aces’ own run to six games, but for Hammon, the scoreboard told a story of defensive frustration.
“These are two really good teams just going blow for blow,” Hammon said, per ESPN’s Michael Voepel. “I’m sure both me and (Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve) are going to be looking at the defensive end. She’s not happy giving up 100, and I’m not happy giving up 97. At the end of the day, it was probably fun to watch. But one of those games that, as a coach, probably drives you crazy.”
The win lifted Las Vegas to 10-3 on the season and pushed them into first place in the Western Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings, a midseason competition that adds stakes to every regular-season matchup. The Aces have reached the Cup final twice before, winning it in 2022 and finishing runner-up in 2023.
A’ja Wilson anchored the Aces with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray helped seal the game from the free-throw line in the closing seconds. But the story of the night might have been Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles, who dropped a career-high 29 points — including 12 in the fourth quarter alone — and showed why she’s emerging as a force in the league.
The lead swung wildly down the stretch. Miles gave the Lynx a 94-93 edge with under a minute to play, but Jewell Loyd answered by calmly sinking three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt. Wilson and Gray then hit their own clutch free throws to ice the game.
For the Lynx, the loss stings — but the takeaway is clear: they can hang with the defending champs on any given night. Minnesota entered the game red-hot with an eight-game winning streak, and even in defeat, they showed the kind of resilience that could make them a serious threat in the playoffs.
“It’s kind of like a midseason measuring stick,” Gray said of the Commissioner’s Cup. “It’s always good to play for charity and a bigger purpose, and you know everybody likes money, right? If we can get a couple more wins, we put ourselves in a pretty good position to do that.”
The Commissioner’s Cup final, scheduled for June 30, comes with a $500,000 prize pool for players and charitable donations tied to the participating teams. Las Vegas improved to 4-1 in Cup play with the win, putting them in prime position to claim a spot in the championship game.
If Saturday night was any preview, both teams have plenty of firepower — and plenty of defensive film to burn. Hammon and Reeve might have hated it, but for everyone else, this was appointment viewing.
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