Wilson's 36-point performance not enough as Sky stun Aces with last-second dagger

Donovan Hicks, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Aug 1, 2026

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Sometimes the house doesn’t win.

Sydney Taylor’s fourth-quarter explosion provided the spark for the host Chicago Sky’s 84-83 comeback victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday at Wintrust Arena, snapping the Aces’ seven-game winning streak over Chicago.

Taylor scored eight consecutive points, including two 3-point baskets, to help the Sky erase a 10-point deficit in the final three minutes before hitting an uncontested 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to give Chicago the lead.

With no timeouts remaining, Las Vegas was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded, as the Sky secured their first one-possession victory of the season.

Despite A’ja Wilson’s game-high 36-point performance and third consecutive double-double — her 15th of the season — the Aces were unable to hold off Chicago’s late surge.

The Sky entered the matchup as one of the league’s top two scoring teams over their past 12 games, averaging 94.9 points per game and 48 points in the paint, and continued that offensive success in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Aces 29-18.

The loss opened Las Vegas’ season-long five-game road trip with a setback, dropping the Aces to 20-9 overall and 11-4 on the road while they remained in second place in the WNBA standings.

“I thought we didn’t make the easy passes today,” said Aces coach Becky Hammon. “If somebody is open, you pass them the ball, and we have to cut and move.

“I didn’t think the ball movement was great today; however, we did enough to win the game. It came down to our defense in the fourth quarter letting us down again.”

The Aces’ offense sputtered in the opening 10 minutes, making eight of 19 attempts from the field, and finished the game with five made 3-pointers on 22 attempts.

Despite leading for 81% of the game, Las Vegas was unable to overcome struggles in several statistical categories that have helped fuel its success this season, including turnovers.

Chicago forced 17 Aces turnovers and converted those mistakes into 18 points, taking advantage of a Las Vegas team that entered Saturday among the league leaders in protecting the basketball, averaging fewer than 12 turnovers per game.

“We got into some crowds and hung onto the ball a little bit,” Hammon said. “I thought them mixing it up on coverages or mismatches made it clunky.

“I thought there were probably two or three ways that we could have helped ourselves on that last play.”

Aces forward NaLyssa Smith finished with 17 points and six rebounds, becoming the 29th player in WNBA history with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.

Chelsea Gray finished with five points, her lowest total since the Aces’ season opener against the Phoenix Mercury, while adding nine assists and committing three turnovers.

Despite the loss, Las Vegas has maintained its dominance over Chicago under Hammon, holding a 16-3 record against the Sky since 2021, including the regular season, playoffs and the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup championship game.

Up next, the Aces continue their road trip on Monday against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream at 7 p.m. ET for their second meeting of the season.

Since the Aces arrived in Las Vegas, they hold an 18-6 record against Atlanta, including six consecutive victories and 11 wins in the previous 12 meetings.

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