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Aces sweep Storm off the court thanks to perfect performance and face Liberty in the WNBA semifinals

Defending against the Las Vegas Aces is like a game of Whac-a-Mole. Kelsey Plum is down for one game, but then she bounces back and scores 29 points. After an 18-point first half, A'ja Wilson has to be held in check, and then comes Jackie Young, who turns up the heat again after a scoreless game before halftime.

The Aces' foursome of Wilson, Young, Plum and Chelsea Gray are one of the most talented groups in WNBA history, if not the best. The firepower of these four players – including Wilson, who acts like a defender in some moves – is limitless.

At the end of Game 2 in Las Vegas, the Seattle Storm were helpless and ready to fight, but they had too many opponents in front of them. Only five players scored for the Aces, but their performance was enough to secure the 83-76 victory and the two-game sweep. Las Vegas advanced to the semifinals to face New York, a rematch of the WNBA Finals a year ago.

Plum led the way with 29 points, scoring her first six baskets two days after missing her first six. Wilson had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Gray added 12 points and nine assists, wowing the home crowd with a series of highlight videos.

“The greatest thing about being on a team of great players is that you can just trust that everyone can contribute and make a difference at any time,” Plum said.

The Aces have been constantly changing the identity of the fifth player in their starting and closing lineups all season. On Tuesday, it was Tiffany Hayes who played with the four starting players in the closing stages. Her attacks on the basket helped bend the defense and create easier attacks for her teammates.

“Anyone can win on any night, it’s all about winning,” Becky Hammon said after the game.

Despite a small lineup, Las Vegas managed to outscore Seattle 10-9 in the fourth period, negating a potential disadvantage. In the final, the Aces won the battle for the boards 45-30. The Storm could have had a massive possession advantage with just five turnovers, but allowed Las Vegas to equalize on the boards.

The problem for Seattle, as it has been all season, was an inability to build an effective offense. Once again, the Storm made less than 40 percent of their field goals. The Aces stuck to their game of clogging the zone and forcing Seattle to beat them from distance, and those shots dried up in the second half, as the Storm made 2 of 11 3-pointers after the break.

Seattle's defense helped the Storm take a one-point lead with eight minutes left, but the two-time defending champions' experience paid off for the second game in a row. Wilson, Plum and Young scored in succession, and Gray (according to Plum) scored the game-winning goal with a trademark elbow jumper two minutes left.

Seattle had the best record of any team without home-court advantage in the first round in more than two decades, but the Storm faced an atypical fourth-place team that didn't even have to be at its best to get to the second round.

Required reading

(Photo: David Becker / NBAE via Getty Images)

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