The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces defeated the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals on Friday.
Dana Evans scored 21 points off the bench for the Aces, matching the game high of four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and Mercury star Kahleah Copper. Alyssa Thomaswho was one assist shy of a triple-double, missed a pair of free throws in the final minute.
Here’s what you need to know about the series opener ahead of Sunday’s Game 2 (3 p.m. ET on ABC).
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How the Aces won
Behind a dominant effort from their bench.
Dana Evans tied 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper and this season’s MVP A’ja Wilson for game-high honors. She had 21 points, making five 3-pointers in six attempts. Jewell Loyd also added 18 points, making them the first pair of teammates with at least 15 points as reserves in a Finals game since 2019, per ESPN Research.
Loyd’s 10 first-quarter points were crucial to keeping Las Vegas in the game. Phoenix got off to a 10-2 start, leading coach Becky Hammon to quickly summon Loyd into the game in place of starter Kierstan Bellwho played just five minutes total. Evans also helped the Aces keep pace with the hot-shooting Mercury, who put up 50 points in the first half.
Still, Evans’ biggest contributions came down the stretch. She made three 3-pointers in the final eight minutes. The last of those gave Las Vegas its biggest lead to that point at 85-82, identical to the final margin.
All told, the Aces got 41 points from their reserves, the franchise’s most ever in a Finals game and tied for their second most in any 2025 game, regular season or playoffs.
How the Mercury lost
Phoenix will probably spend the 40-plus hours before Game 2 lamenting letting an opportunity to steal home-court advantage in the series get away. The Mercury led for nearly the entire game and shot 39% on 3s to the Aces’ 33%, outscoring them by 15 points beyond the arc despite Evans’ heroics.
Phoenix was done in primarily by turnover differential. The Mercury committed 14, including five for Alyssa Thomaswho came within an assist of a triple-double but struggled with the quick hands of Las Vegas’ smaller defenders. Meanwhile, the Aces’ seven turnovers tied the fewest ever by a team in a Finals game.
Beyond that, Phoenix will regret being outshot 20-13 from the foul line. In a close game, Satou Sabally‘s technical foul for slamming the ball to the court after being called for her fifth foul early in the final period loomed large.
Of course, no free throws were more painful than Thomas’ late trip to the line with the Mercury down one. With a chance to give Phoenix the lead, Thomas missed both, forcing the Mercury to intentionally foul. Down three with the ball in the closing seconds, they couldn’t generate a good look at the tying shot from beyond the arc.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time in WNBA history that a player missed two potential score-tying free throws in the same trip to the line during the final two minutes of a playoff game.
What could decide Game 2?
How well the Mercury handle the Aces’ zone defense.
Phoenix might not have spent much time preparing for the zone heading into Game 1, as it hasn’t been an important part of Las Vegas’ defense since midseason. The Aces hadn’t played more than seven possessions of zone in a game since July 6, per GeniusIQ tracking — long before the 16-game winning streak that gave them home-court advantage in this series. On Friday, Hammon went to zone for 20 plays in the second half, slowing down a Mercury offense that was red-hot over the first 2½ quarters but managed just 15 points in the fourth.
Per ESPN Research, the Mercury shot 3-of-14 against the Aces’ zone — including 1-of-8 in the fourth quarter — with an additional three turnovers.
The strategy reminded me of Game 1 of the 2022 WNBA Finals, also in Las Vegas, where the Aces used zone in a win over the Connecticut Sun and their then-stars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner.
The difference in this series is the Mercury have far more shooting to attack the zone. Phoenix missed some good looks down the stretch and should be better equipped to beat it by Game 2. Still, the zone could be a useful change of pace for Las Vegas in this series. It allows the Aces to defend Thomas pick-and-rolls without having to switch and concede mismatches. Perhaps the easiest adjustment for the Mercury would simply be to get more stops, since it’s more difficult to use zone after a missed shot or a turnover. — Kevin Pelton
