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The Las Vegas Aces (5-7) took on the Seattle Storm (8-5) at home.
The Aces welcomed A’ja Wilson back to the lineup. As recent as an hour before game time she was listed as questionable.
Wilson received a standing ovation from the crowd in player introductions. Alysha Clark of the Seattle Storm received a warm welcome, as she spent two seasons with the Aces.
A’ja Wilson got off to a quick start in the first quarter, the Aces seemed to be firing on all cylinders with their leader back on the court.
In the first quarter, the Aces had the numbers down the court, but Skylar Diggins and Seattle got hot, leading by as much as 10 with 2:30 left in the quarter. To close out the quarter, rookie Aaliyah Nye got the friendly bounce on a three-pointer from the corner to pull the Aces to within two, 23-21.
To start the second quarter, Aaliyah Nye capitalized off the momentum of her last three-pointer to shoot another. A’ja Wilson made a magnificent play to the basket to draw the foul and complete the two-point play, bringing the Aces into within one, 29-28. To end the half, the Aces stormed back to take the lead, 45-38 behind a Jackie Young push.
At one point in the third quarter, the Aces converted on back-to-back shots, leading 56-48. With 4:19 left in the quarter, Kiah Stokes was able to get the layup, putting the Aces up 61-54. With under 2:50 left in the quarter, the Storm went on a 6-0 run to cut the Aces lead 63-60.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, Jackie Young said, “We just gotta stay locked in on the defensive end.”
In the fourth, both teams traded shots. With 5:00 left in the game, the Aces were down 80-82, after two made free-throws from Jackie Young. Erica Wheeler was on fire for the Storm in the closing minutes of the game.
The Storm pulled away in the closing minutes of the game, getting the win over the Aces 90-83.
In the post-game presser, Aces coach Becky Hammon said, “Our defense was atrocious in the third quarter with the first five (minutes). The bigger issue here is our defense.”
The Aces meet Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at home on Sunday at 3pm.
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Change necessary after Aces fold in humiliating 53-point loss to Lynx
The Las Vegas Aces hit rock bottom on Saturday. After folding in an embarrassing 111-58 loss to the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, change has never been more necessary to a team that just a season ago was seeking a third consecutive WNBA championship. The Lynx (24-5) outclassed the Aces from the start, jumping out to a 35-17 lead after one. Minnesota could have gone without a field goal in the second quarter and still would have held a halftime lead, with Las Vegas entering the half scoring 33 points. Per the WNBA's social media account, the Lynx's eventual 53-point margin of victory was the largest by a road team in league history. As bad as the final score was, it doesn't do justice to how awful the Aces were defensively. They constantly left sharpshooting Lynx guard Kayla McBride open, and she made them pay, ending with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from three-point range. Las Vegas lost track of her early, leading the Minnesota's first bucket. The Aces struggled switching off of screens, with players looking unsure of who was supposed to be on the assignment. With under two minutes remaining in the second quarter, McBride drilled a 30-footer with three Aces defenders below the three-point line, giving her way too much space. This season, the Aces rank No. 9 in defensive efficiency (102), per Her Hoop Stats data. Las Vegas lacks elite perimeter defenders, leading opponents to shoot 34.7 percent from three-point range, the third-highest mark in the league, only behind the Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings. The offseason three-team trade that sent former Aces guard Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks and former Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd to the Aces hasn't worked. While Loyd's never been known for being an efficient scorer, she's been sorely miscast in a supporting role, averaging 10.8 points per game, her lowest since her rookie season in 2015, while shooting 37.5 percent. Loyd is shooting a ghastly 40.3 percent on two-pointers, which ranks No. 96 in the league. Per WNBA data, Aces guards have the fourth-worst net rating (negative-1.6), heavily due to their second-worst defensive rating (68.4). As jarring as Las Vegas' fall from the WNBA's upper-class has been, it should be able to return to title contention soon as long as star center and three-time MVP A'ja Wilson, who turns 29 on Friday, is in her prime. But to get there, the Aces might need a whole other cast to put alongside her. After Saturday's demolition, this version has run its course.
Brewers issue update on Jackson Chourio rehab timeline
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was tearing it up in July before he strained his hamstring legging out a triple. He was placed on the injured list, and it only got worse from there. Less than 24 hours later, manager Pat Murphy said Chourio would be out beyond the 10-day minimum and possibly at least a month. On Saturday, beat reporter Curt Hogg shed another tidbit of light on the slugger’s timetable. It’s not necessarily worse news, but Hogg’s update probably does not illuminate much. Fans already knew Chourio was going to be out a while after Friday’s report, so this latest info isn’t surprising. It isn’t all that encouraging, either. It certainly suggests no expedited return schedule. Not to make assumptions, but the emphasis on the location of the damage versus evaluating its severity seems to indicate the Brewers are just hoping Chourio avoided a worse-case scenario. In that case, caution would indeed be first in the order of operations. Only after ascertaining clarity would it make sense to seriously estimate a recovery timetable. That he won’t be ready to immediately resume baseball workouts further points to a slow, methodical recovery process. For however long he remains out, the lineup will miss him badly. Chourio’s 17 home runs rank second on the team behind Christian Yelich, as do his 67 RBI. His .786 OPS leads the offense among qualified hitters. In 90 at-bats in July, he hit .367/.408/.600. The Brewers are resilient everywhere, but without one of their few genuine power threats and hottest bats, plus an everyday outfielder, they are courting a potential offensive slump. The most fans can hope for from Chourio is that he returns fully healthy by the first week of September. Until then, Blake Perkins and trade pickup Brandon Lockridge should see plenty of playing time while Yelich takes more reps in the outfield after getting most of his at-bats this season as the designated hitter.
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Surprising Marlins earn MLB first in sweep of Yankees
The Miami Marlins achieved a franchise first on Sunday. In doing so, they carved out an interesting place in MLB history. With a 7-3 victory over the Yankees, the Marlins swept New York for the first time in a series of three or more games. In doing so, the Marlins became the only team to have a winning record, including the postseason, against the Yankees. The Yankees now have a 22-21 record against the Marlins in the regular season. However, the Marlins won the 2003 World Series against the Yankees in six games, giving the Fish a 25-24 record all-time. The Marlins' victory on Sunday meant more than a unique place in baseball history. That victory evened the Marlins' record at 55-55, the first time they have been at .500 or better since April 15 (8-8). The Marlins are 30-14 in their last 44 games, tying the 2003 championship team for the best stretch (last done from June 18-Aug. 9) in franchise history. The Marlins defied expectations at the trade deadline, holding on to pitchers Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera. Their only trade involved sending outfielder Jesus Sanchez to Houston, acquiring pitcher Ryan Gusto and a pair of prospects. Expectations were that the Marlins were simply waiting for the offseason to trade those pitchers, as there may be a larger market. Instead, the generally inexperienced Marlins roster is growing and improving by the day. They have clawed back from a 24-40 start to the season to pull themselves into the NL wild-card conversation. Although a lot would need to go right for the Marlins to reach the playoffs this season, they could be a dangerous team over the rest of the season and beyond. The Yankees found that out the hard way.
Dolphins lock in defensive standout to long-term extension
It's been a lucrative weekend for some of the NFL's defensive tackles. Just one day after the Denver Broncos locked in Zach Allen on a long-term deal, the Miami Dolphins did the same with another Zach — Zach Sieler — and signed him to a three-year, $67 million extension that will now make him the highest-paid defensive player on the Dolphins roster. The Dolphins defense took a big step forward in 2024 and climbed to the top 10 in points allowed and the top four in yards allowed. They still struggled against some of the NFL's better teams, but it was a better unit overall and Sieler was a big part of that. He's been a full-time starter the past three seasons and is coming off back-to-back 10-sack campaigns for the Dolphins. He is going to turn 30 just after Week 1 of the season, but his game should age well throughout the contract extension. It was a quiet free agent signing period for the Dolphins defense, mainly focusing on depth additions, but they did make one blockbuster trade by sending Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Minkah Fitzpatrick. They also addressed the defensive line in the 2025 NFL Draft in a big way by selecting defensive lineman with two of their first three picks. That included first-round pick Kenneth Grant out of Michigan and fifth-round pick Jordan Phillips out of Maryland.
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