Wilson scores 29 on her 29th birthday to help Aces tackle Storm
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 29 points and 12 rebounds on her 29th birthday, Jackie Young added 26 points, including a key 3-pointer with 51 seconds left, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 90-86 on Friday night for their fifth win in six games.
Young scored seven straight points at the end of an 9-0 run to give Las Vegas a 63-44 lead midway through the third quarter.
Seattle closed the third on a 17-6 run — with all six Las Vegas points from Jewell Loyd. The Storm also scored the opening seven points of the fourth to get to 71-70.
Dominique Malonga completed a three-point play with 5:38 left to tie it at 75 — the closest Seattle had been since it was tied at 25. But Young scored the next five points.
Young's late 3-pointer made it 90-84.
Chelsea Gray added 13 points and NaLyssa Smith had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Las Vegas (17-14). Loyd finished with 10 points against her former team. Young’s second basket in the first half moved her past Becky Hammon for fifth in franchise history for most made field goals.
Malonga has season highs with 22 points and 12 rebounds for Seattle (16-15). Erica Wheeler added 16 points, Gabby Williams scored 14 and Nneka Ogwumike had 12 points and nine rebounds. Brittney Sykes, in her first game with Seattle after coming over from the Mystics, scored 14 points off the bench.
The Aces announced it was their 40th straight sold-out game — the most in WNBA history.
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