Jackie Young and NaLyssa Smith lead Aces past Fever for 2-1 lead in WNBA semifinal series

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jackie Young scored 25 points in her home state and NaLyssa Smith added 16 points, leading the Las Vegas Aces to an 84-72 victory over the short-handed Indiana Fever on Friday night in Game 3 of a best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.

The Aces lead 2-1 and would reach their third WNBA Finals in four years with a win Sunday in Indianapolis.

Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson had a poor shooting night. She made a 3-pointer to open the game, then missed her next 11 shots. The four-time MVP finished with 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting and had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Chelsea Gary had 15 points and six assists.

Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 21 points and Lexie Hull finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Aliyah Boston had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Fever, who held a 16-4 edge in offensive rebounds.

MERCURY 84, LYNX 76

PHOENIX (AP) — Satou Sabally scored 23 points — including 15 in a stellar fourth quarter — and Phoenix beat the top-seeded Minnesota in Game 3 to take control of their WNBA playoff semifinals series.

The Mercury have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and can reach the Finals on Sunday with a win in Game 4 in Phoenix.

Sabally hit a 3-pointer to give the Mercury a 78-76 lead with 3:05 remaining and added two free throws with 2:01 left to push the advantage to 80-76. Alyssa Thomas had a steal and layup with 21.8 seconds left that sealed the win.

Thomas and Kahleah Copper both scored 21 points, highlighting a balanced Mercury offense. It was a tight game throughout with 15 lead changes.

Minnesota was led by Natisha Hiedeman’s 19 points off the bench. Collier added 17 points on 8 of 15 shooting while Courtney Williams added 14.