The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces got 42 points from star A'ja Wilson on Tuesday, the most any WNBA player has scored in a game this season, but it wasn't enough as the Aces lost 93-90 to the Dallas Wings.
The loss dropped the Aces to 18-12 and fifth in the standings.
"We didn't defend, we fouled, and we didn't rebound. And we shot the 3 terrible again," Aces coach Becky Hammon said. "So it's a bad combination."
Las Vegas lost six games in the regular season and once in the playoffs last year in winning its second WNBA title in a row. But even though Wilson is the heavy favorite for 2024 MVP -- she is averaging 27.1 points per game, the most ever through 30 games in league history -- the Aces have been struggling this year.
They are 2-4 since WNBA play resumed after the Olympics, and they lost their last game before the break too. Three of their recent losses were to New York and Minnesota (twice), which are first and third in the WNBA standings, respectively. But Tuesday's defeat was to Dallas, now just 8-22. On Sunday, they needed Wilson's buzzer-beater to defeat Chicago, which is 11-18.
Wilson missed a career-high 20 shots against the Sky but was back to her usual efficiency against the Wings, going 16-of-22 from the field; the rest of the Aces shot 15-of-40. Her 42 points are the most ever by a WNBA player in a regulation (non-overtime) loss.
"I wish I could shoot perfect every game, but that's not always the case," said Wilson, who is at 52% for the season. "I don't let a lot of things linger, because it takes you out of the moment. I'm going to try to still be productive for my team. Today, it was this ... but we didn't get the win, so none of that matters."
Tuesday's game marked the third 40-point game of Wilson's career. Only three other players in WNBA history have three or more 40-point games: Breanna Stewart (4), Diana Taurasi (4) and Maya Moore (3).
Hammon has been concerned about Las Vegas' defense since before the season started. She was asked if, with 10 games left, the Aces can improve it.
"It can get a lot better, clearly, but it's the attention to detail," Hammon said. "There are ways we can shave off [opponents'] points just by being disciplined, being alert. We couldn't defend our lunch in the second half.
"At some point, people have to take accountability. You have to be up in pick-and-roll. You have to block out your man. You have to go help the bigs when they have those big bodies in there crashing every time. When you know exactly what the other team needs to do and you can't handle it, that's concerning.
"I can't make them do it. They have to do it. What am I going to do, pull them out? Anybody I put in there didn't rebound."
The Aces were outrebounded 40-26, with Dallas center Teaira McCowan getting 17 rebounds. Las Vegas is seventh in the WNBA in rebounding at 34.4 per game. That's not much different from last season's 34.8 average, but the Aces aren't offensively as efficient this season as they were in 2023, other than Wilson.
"We have to figure out how to get stops down the stretch when it matters, and we haven't shown the ability to keep leads, which is disappointing," Hammon said. "You have to defend. We're not that good offensively this year to give up 93. We haven't shot it well. We haven't moved it well enough."
Last season, Dallas made the WNBA semifinals and lost 3-0 to the Aces. Satou Sabally, the 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player, was out the first part of this season as she recovered from a shoulder injury and prepared to play for Germany in the Olympics. Sabally has been a huge boost to the Wings in the five games since she returned after the Paris Games: She is averaging 20.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists. On Tuesday, she had 28, 7 and 5.
Dallas now has back-to-back wins for the first time since May; the Wings beat the Los Angeles Sparks 113-110 on Sunday.