Gray hits winning jumper as Aces beat Storm 95-92 in OT
Jun 27, 2021, 3:41 AM | Updated: 4:25 pm
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Chelsea Gray scored 15 of her 21 points after the third quarter, including a go-ahead jumper with 10.6 seconds left and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 95-92 in overtime on Sunday in a Commissioner’s Cup game.
Gray had five points in the final seconds and finished with seven assists. A’ja Wilson led Las Vegas (11-4) with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Kelsey Plum added 15 points. Jackie Young and Riquna Williams — who made 4 of 6 from 3-point range — scored 12 points apiece.
Breanna Stewart had 35 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Seattle (12-4). Mercedes Russell tied her season highs with 12 points and 11 boards.
Russell, a career 62% foul shooter, made two free throws to give Seattle a 90-88 lead with 1:05 to play but Gray converted a three-point play to give the Aces a one-point lead about 50 seconds later. Stewart made two free throws to make it 92-91 with 21.4 seconds left before Gray’s jumper put Las Vegas in the lead for good.
Stewart missed a contested turn-around jumper that went out of bounds and was originally ruled Seattle basketball with 1.8 seconds left in regulation. The Storm, which was out of timeouts, was able to use the time during a video review that confirmed their possession to draw up a play but Liz Cambage deflected the inbounds pass, giving Seattle another chance with 0.5 seconds to go but Stewart missed another potential winning shot at the buzzer.
The WNBA-leading Storm have a half-game lead over Las Vegas — which won the regular season series 2-1 — in the league standings and, at 5-1, lead the Aces by one game in the Western Conference’s Commissioner’s Cup standings.
Each team plays 10 Commissioner’s Cup games, finishing on July 10, with the top team from each conference playing a championship game in August for the cup title and a prize totaling approximately $500,000.
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