Kelsey Plum delivered a season-high 34 points, leading the Las Vegas Aces to a decisive 88-69 victory over the Indiana Fever at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday. Plum’s standout performance included six 3-pointers, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal. She dominated the fourth quarter with 12 points, outscoring the entire Fever team, which managed only 10 points in the last 10 minutes.
This impressive game was a significant rebound for Plum, who scored just two points against the Washington Mystics on Saturday. Other than that game, Plum has consistently scored in double figures this season, reaching 20+ points six times. Tuesday marked her first 30-point performance of 2024, and she surpassed the 3,000-career point milestone, now totaling 3,002 points.
“I’m just going to stay aggressive,” Plum stated in her postgame interview on ESPN. “Sometimes shooters miss, sometimes they make. But I know what I am and I know my teammates believe in me. My coaches believe in me.”
Plum Dawg shot lights out tonight đź’Ą
Kelsey Plum exploded for a season-high 34 PTS and shot an impressive 6-11 from deep, she also finished with 6 REB, 5 AST in the winning effort #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/hj1m7eQAPr
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 3, 2024
The Aces, reigning WNBA champions for the past two seasons, entered this year as favorites. They faced early challenges with Chelsea Gray out due to a foot injury. However, since Gray’s return, they have won five consecutive games.
“Chelsea is our leader. She gets us going,” Plum said. “I’ve said it before, she is like the sugar in our cake. We are in a good rhythm right now. We are not going to panic. We lost a couple games early, but we are just going to keep doing our thing.”
A’ja Wilson also shined for Las Vegas with 28 points, nine rebounds, two steals, and five blocks. Jackie Young contributed a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Defense played a crucial role in the Aces’ victory. While Kelsey Plum Mitchell and Aliyah Boston led the Fever with 23 and 18 points, respectively, the Aces effectively disrupted Caitlin Clark. They limited Indiana’s top scorer to one field goal in the first half and held her scoreless in the fourth quarter. Clark ended the game with 13 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds.
“We have a lot of competitors in our team. I call them ‘Hungry Hippos,'” Plum said. “We really want to win and we understand that our defense is the reason we have been able to win. That has to be better, it has to continue to be better.”
The Aces improved to a 10-6 record and will next face the Mystics on Thursday.
Indiana, now 8-13, faces a challenging game against the New York Liberty on Saturday, which will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ at 1 p.m. ET
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