Back-to-back champions the Las Vegas Aces suffered the first setback of their quest for the three-peat. In a high-flying contest, the visiting Phoenix Mercury handed them a 98-88 defeat at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. Speaking of high-flying, one such event transpired on the court with Aces’ No. 10 Kelsey Plum. The attempts to get an upper hand on the game proved to be too much for the point guard as a crucial stage of the game witnessed something very rare.

The game was evenly poised with the home team trailing by a single point just before half-time. At this time, the Mercury’s shooting guard Kahleah Copper throws a long ball toward Sophie Cunningham in order to capitalize on a fast break. Kelsey Plum had other plans as she interrupted this play in between. However, she saw herself flying into the Mercury bench during the process. Soon after, she was helped back onto the court by assistant coaches following which the play resumed.

The interesting thing here was that just 4 seconds before, Kahleah Copper stole the ball courtesy of an unsuccessful pass by Kelsey Plum. This back-and-forth battle continued as the half-time ended at 47-46 in favor of the Aces. Sadly, they couldn’t continue this momentum in the second half. Having been outscored in the remaining quarters by 6 and 5 points respectively, the game ended in a loss after an 8-0 run by Phoenix in the closing minute of the game. This included 4 free throws which were converted by Natasha Cloud and Sophie Cunningham.

Nonetheless, Kelsey Plum delivered a standout performance and ended up being the top scorer for her team.

Kelsey Plum’s valiant efforts

It was an absolutely delightful 38 minutes of Kelsey Plum for the spectators. Seemingly, the 29-year-old showcased her skills to full extent which resulted in her garnering 27 points. In addition to this, she also registered 5 assists and 2 rebounds next to her name. A thorough exhibition of her shooting abilities was on display as she was 7 of 14 from beyond the arc and 9 of 23 in field goals. Further, both her attempts from the free throw line ended at the back of the basket.

A reality check for the 2x WNBA champions. Failing to hold on to their nerves in the closing moments of the game cost them dearly, eventually. This might be the area they’ll need to address before they take on Caitlin Clark and Co. as their next challenge.