A’ja Wilson torches Sun for 45 as Aces roll to 3rd straight win

A’ja Wilson had a historic night Friday, putting on an offensive display while scoring from nearly everywhere on the court.

The four-time WNBA MVP scored 45 points to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 101-94. Wilson was 15-for-18 from the field, hitting both of her 3-point attempts, and made all 13 of her free throws.

“Finding shots in our system and letting the flow of the game take over, that’s big to me,” Wilson said. “I want to be efficient. It’s beautiful to rack up all these points, but to be efficient, that’s what is key.”

It was the fifth time she has scored over 40 points, a WNBA record, breaking a tie with Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi. Her career high is 53 on Aug. 22, 2023, against the Atlanta Dream. Wilson became the only player in WNBA history to score 45 or more points on 80% shooting from the field, according to ESPN Research.

Wilson’s boyfriend, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, was at the game Friday, just as she attended his 83-point effort in March.

“She was unbelievable,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Really happy with the free throws. The 3s, she just continued to sprinkle those in. She got a lot of early touches.”

When Connecticut cut a 13-point deficit to 72-70 late in the third quarter, Wilson hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout and followed it up with a three-point play, igniting a 16-4 run that put the game away.

“It wasn’t really designed to be like that,” Wilson said of her 3. “I was trying to take what the defense was giving me. [Raegan] Beers was playing a little bit off, so why not?”

Wilson has had a lot of big moments at Mohegan Sun Arena. This was potentially her last game there, with the Sun set to move to Houston next season.

“This building has been special to me for a while,” Wilson said. “Got my first WNBA point in this building and championship in this building. It’s fun coming here. … Going to miss this place.”

Chelsea Gray has had a front-row seat to Wilson’s amazing play over the past five seasons.

“You can’t get bored with watching greatness,” the Aces’ star point guard said. “I’m around it all the time, but I’m surprised every day. I never want to get to the spot where I’m comfortable, like, yeah, that’s unheard of.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.