A recap of the Las Vegas Aces’ home game against the Atlanta Dream on August 18, 2026:
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Poor shooting and turnovers led to the Las Vegas Aces’ (24-13) 97-82 loss to the Atlanta Dream (22-13) on Tuesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena. A’ja Wilson led with game-highs of 27 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots, and Wilson also shot 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Jackie Young followed with 24 points and a team-high five assists, and Chelsea Gray added 13 points, while NaLyssa Smith chipped in with 10 points.
Rhyne Howard led the Dream with a team-high 23 points, Angel Reese tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds. Allisha Gray also scored 21 points, and Jordin Canada rounded out Atlanta’s double-digit scorers in the contest with 17 points.
First Quarter (Las Vegas 25, Atlanta 24):
The Dream held an early 8-2 advantage and remained in front until Las Vegas scored a 10-4 run to tie the game up at 12-all just past the midway point of the opening quarter. Behind eight points from Wilson, the Aces took their first lead by three points, 20-17. The teams swapped scores over the last-two minutes. Las Vegas shot well in the opening-10 minutes, hitting 55.6 percent (10-for-18) overall and 4-for-6 (.667) from deep. The Dream, meanwhile, shot 8-for-18 (.444) and 2-for-6 (.333) from distance. Wilson led all scorers with eight points and three blocks, and 2 Dream players scored six points each.
Second Quarter (Atlanta 52, Las Vegas 41):
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus scored first to start the second quarter before the Dream surged to a 19-4 run to take a 12-point lead, 43-31, during which Las Vegas missed eight-straight field-goal attempts. Their lone four points during that stretch came from Wilson at the free-throw line. Chelsea Gray’s triple ‘stemmed the tide’ and brought it back to a single-digit deficit, 43-34, with three-and-a-half minutes to go. The Aces cut the lead down to seven points, 48-41, but Atlanta scored the last-four points of the half to take an 11-point lead heading into the locker room. Las Vegas went cold from the floor, shooting 25 percent (4-for-16) and 28.6 percent (2-for-7) from three-point range. The Dream made 64.3 percent (9-for-14) of their shots overall and 66.7 percent (4-for-6) from deep. Reese paced all scorers with eight points, while Wilson topped the Aces with six tallies.
Third Quarter (Atlanta 71, Las Vegas 61):
The Aces scored the first-five points to trim the lead to six before Atlanta put together a 12-3 run to bring them their largest lead of the quarter, 64-49. Young then tallied 10 points during a 12-5 Las Vegas spurt that shortened the deficit to eight points, 69-61, before the Dream scored the final bucket of the third quarter. In all, the Aces shot 5-for-16 (.312) overall and only 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. Atlanta also shot poorly at 28.6 percent (6-for-21) from the floor and 33.3 percent (2-for-6) from distance. The Aces shot 7-for-8 from the charity stripe, while the Dream made all five of their attempts. Young paced all scorers with 13 points, and Howard scored seven points for the visitors.
Fourth Quarter (Atlanta 97, Las Vegas 82):
Las Vegas pulled to within seven points, 83-76, near the halfway point, but Atlanta had a counter for every Las Vegas basket. Wilson scored four points to cut the lead to six, 88-82, with less than two minutes to play before the Dream scored the final-nine points of the game. The Aces shot 6-for-13 (.462) overall, while the Dream shot 9-for-18 in the final period of play. The two teams combined to shoot 1-for-10 from three-point range. Las Vegas sank all eight of their free-throw attempts, while Atlanta shot 8-for-10 from the foul line.
Key Stats:
The Aces recorded a season-high 12 blocks, surpassing their previous high of 10 against Los Angeles on May 10.
Las Vegas turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 18 Atlanta points, while the Dream recorded 11 turnovers, which led to five Las Vegas points.
There were eight knotted scores in Tuesday’s game, six of which came in the first quarter, and there were four lead changes, three of which came in the second quarter.
Parker-Tyus scored her first points since July 22, and returned to the lineup for the first time since July 28 when she was sidelined under concussion protocol.
Atlanta notched 15 steals, which ties their second-highest mark of the season.
Las Vegas was held to 22 points in the paint, its second-lowest total of the season (20 against Golden State on June 6) and dished out the second-fewest assists (14 against Indiana on July 5) of the year.
Game Notes:
Chelsea Gray (687) only needed two two-point field goals to pass Danielle Robinson (686) for No. 7 in franchise history, and finished the night with two made baskets.
Chelsea Gray is now tied with Kayla McBride at No. 27 on the league’s all-time steals list with 481 career steals. No. 26 is Becky Hammon with 488.
Wilson played her 301st-career game, which tied Sophia Young-Malcolm for the most games played in franchise history.
Wilson marked her 27th 20-point game of the season, which is second in the WNBA, and the league’s third-most 189th of her career (Diana Taurasi, 259; Tina Charles, 190).
Wilson tallied her 63rd-career game with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, which was her league-high 13th on the season.
Wilson recorded her 19th-career game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 made free throws. She is only the second player in WNBA history behind Elena Delle Donne (five games) to tally multiple games with such a statline, in addition to 10 made free throws without a miss, and has done so now in four games.
Wilson has scored in double figures a league-leading 58-consecutive games.
With five rebounds on Tuesday night, Young passed Natalie Williams (1,156) for fifth in franchise history. Young now has 1,161 career rebounds.
Hammon was ejected after being whistled for a pair of technicals at the 5:06 mark of the second quarter. It was the second ejection of her career. The first was at Los Angeles on June 9, 2024.
Tuesday’s game marked the Aces’ 64th-straight sellout at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Las Vegas was without the services of Dana Evans (left leg).