NaLyssa Smith Had a Night | The Aces Found a Way in OT 500 Wins 98-90

This one had everything.

The Las Vegas Aces never trailed against the Chicago Sky until the final four minutes of regulation and then had to survive a 10-point swing, a clutch Chelsea Gray tie up with 22 seconds left, and a huge coaching challenge that overturned an and-1 for Chicago in overtime before finally closing it out 98-90 in OT at T-Mobile Arena.

And oh by the way tonight marked the 500th victory in franchise history. From the Utah Starzz to the San Antonio Stars to the Las Vegas Aces 500 wins. That's a legacy.

But the real story tonight was NaLyssa Smith. And Jewell Loyd made sure everybody knew it after the game.

NaLyssa Smith was that girl tonight

29 points. A game high and a season-high. 8 rebounds. Smith was everywhere offensively finding angles, creating space against bigger defenders, and setting the tone defensively from the opening tip. On a night when A'ja Wilson was out and this team needed somebody to step up in a major way, NaLyssa Smith answered the call louder than anyone could have expected.

Jewell Loyd pulled her aside after the final buzzer and told her exactly what she thought. "At the end of the game, I told her that's every night. You know, her being active and definitely starting on the defensive end, because she set the tone really early. You can kind of tell when she gets going, she feels it. And seeing her growth, seeing her mindset, all the work she puts in that's something I expect of her and that's kind of our bond. I get her going, she gets me going. But yeah, sky's the limit. She puts in the work. And when you do the work consistently like that, it's going to show. A night like this is not a fluke. She's what she's capable of doing this is just nice for you guys to see, but we see it every single day."

That right there says everything. Loyd sees it in practice every single day and tonight the rest of the world got to see it too.

Coach Hammon was equally effusive about what she asked of Smith on a night like this. "We're asking a lot of Lys right now, especially with A's absence. She's probably running into more actions than she ever has, so it's a little bit exhausting. But her just finding her spots I thought she did a good job of creating space against those bigger defenders and finding her angles. I like what she did on the defensive end too. She had to really work hard on both ends. She should sleep well tonight after a 15-minute ice bath."

15-minute ice bath. She earned it.

Chelsea Gray was ice cold when it mattered most

The Aces were trailing 86-84 with 22.6 seconds left in regulation. Chelsea Gray pulled up and hit a two-pointer to tie it and send this game to overtime. That was it. That was the moment that saved the season.

Becky Hammon didn't mince words about what Gray means to this team in those moments. "One of the most clutch players I've ever seen male or female. Her run that she had in '22, you've seen her run in Unrivaled, you've seen her go on these crazy runs. People are I feel like you're just born with that when you like big moments. Pressure can either work for you or against you. She's somebody the pressure works for."

Born for big moments. That's Chelsea Gray in two sentences. She finished with 18 points and a game-high 6 assists, and in overtime she scored back to back baskets during the Aces' 10-0 run to put this game away for good.

The overtime coaching challenge changed everything

With the Aces leading 92-88 and Chicago's Natasha Cloud racing to the basket, Jackie Young was called for a foul on what looked like a Cloud and-1 opportunity. Hammon immediately threw the challenge flag. After review the call was overturned. Cloud was called for an offensive foul instead. The and-1 was wiped off the board. Gray scored the next two baskets. Game over.

That is championship-level coaching in the biggest moment of a game. Hammon saw it, challenged it, and won it. The Aces went on a 10-0 run from there and never looked back.

Jewell Loyd made WNBA history

On a night full of big moments, Loyd became the ninth player in WNBA history to make 700 career three-pointers, finishing with 3 threes tonight. She is the sixth fastest to the mark at 389 games just five games behind Becky Hammon's pace at 384 games. Diana Taurasi remains the fastest at 276 games. Loyd also passed Katie Smith on the all-time made field goals list.

Jackie Young and the supporting cast

Young added 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals steady and impactful all night the way she always is. Parker-Tyus recorded a season-high 3 steals and her and-1 in the second quarter sparked an 8-0 run that gave the Aces breathing room. This team finds contributors everywhere.

My take

Win No. 500 in franchise history. NaLyssa Smith's best game of the season. Chelsea Gray being clutch for the 1,000th time. A coaching challenge that flipped an overtime game on its head. A 10-0 overtime run to close it out.

This team is 15-5 and they just won a game they probably should have lost. That's what champions do. A'ja Wilson is out and they found a way. That says everything about this roster and this coaching staff.

The Aces host the Indiana Fever on Sunday July 5 at 4pm on ESPN and Disney+. Her Game Network will be there.