Hammon rips 'soft' Aces' effort in 27-point blowout

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Las Vegas Aces are successful unfamiliar territory.

Sunday's 95-68 nonaccomplishment to the Golden State Valkyries marked the third-largest nonaccomplishment for the Aces (4-3) successful the Becky Hammon era. It was besides their 2nd 20-point nonaccomplishment this season, the archetypal clip they've had much than 1 successful a play nether Hammon.

"What is retired there, that's not an Aces squad we are utilized to seeing," Chelsea Gray said. "We are trying to fig it retired successful our locker room, successful our meetings. ... It's uncharted territory close present that we person not seen this broadside oregon played similar this since we've been unneurotic and played nether Becky."

The Valkyries acceptable the code early, chiefly done their defense. They forced A'ja Wilson into 3 first-quarter turnovers, and the Aces had 7 arsenic a team, some season-high marks.

Up by 2 aft the archetypal quarter, Golden State led by 21 astatine halftime aft outscoring Las Vegas 34-15 successful the 2nd quarter. It was the 2nd clip this play the Aces person trailed by astatine slightest 20 points astatine the half, the different coming against the Seattle Storm successful a crippled they mislaid by 20.

The communal denominator, Hammon said, was the Aces' deficiency of effort.

"It's america being brushed mentally and letting radical punk america ... and whining alternatively of buckling down and saying, 'OK, if that's what it's going to be, let's go,'" Hammon said. "I told them effort has to travel from your heart. The schemes, the discipline, the habits -- that's your head. Right present we not lone person a bosom issue, but it's [becoming] a caput issue."

She continued: "I'm not going to manager effort. It's 1 happening I can't woody with. You are successful complaint of your effort. ... I've ne'er been a manager to propulsion for mistakes, but I volition propulsion for effort."

Wilson, the reigning league MVP, was held to 8 first-half points and finished with 17 connected 5-of-13 shooting.

Valkyries manager Natalie Nakase said she reminded her squad that Wilson could inactive spell disconnected astatine immoderate moment.

"She's the champion subordinate successful the world," Nakase said she told her players. "We each cognize that. She's susceptible of going disconnected for 50. [So] person that successful the backmost of [your] mind. A'ja is susceptible of going for 50."

Golden State consistently threw aggregate bodies astatine Wilson, rotating double-teams connected her, collapsing the defence and adjacent presenting box-and-1 defenses.

"It wasn't thing retired of the ordinary," Wilson said. "For the tiny clip I've been playing successful this league, I've generated immoderate double-teams and antithetic looks. ... I don't deliberation that slowed maine down, but I bash deliberation it caused a small spot of commotion with us. ... We've got to bash a amended occupation arsenic a squad knowing what teams privation to instrumentality distant from us. Everyone knows however talented we are, truthful we person to prime it apart."

The Valkyries person followed a akin signifier successful their inaugural season, hanging with their opponents oregon adjacent gathering a pb successful the archetypal half, lone to springiness it each backmost successful the 3rd 4th oregon down the stretch.

Against the Aces, they were alert that repeating that wont was a anticipation if they didn't instrumentality the close approach.

"A squad particularly that's loaded with that benignant of talent, you don't ever fto your defender down," Nakase said. "So astatine halftime, I'm like, the people is 0-0. Like, we cannot play to the score."

Kayla Thornton had the archetypal 20-point double-double of her career, posting 22 points and 11 rebounds. Veronica Burton had the archetypal double-double of her vocation with 14 points and 12 assists, portion Monique Billings finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It's the archetypal clip this play that a squad has had 3 players grounds a double-double successful the aforesaid game.

Hammon said that the Aces' mediocre defence was straight impacted by them missing "wide-open" shots astatine the different end. The Aces changeable 35.5% from the field, their third-worst shooting show of the season, and conscionable 24% from 3-point range, their worst this year.

Meanwhile, the Valkyries changeable a season-best 47.9% from the floor, including a season-best 35.7% from 3.

"This team, we've got to determine who we privation to beryllium connected a nighttime in, nighttime retired basis," Hammon said. "We clasp a squad to 70 1 nighttime and past travel retired present and springiness up astir 100. I don't cognize if they've scored 100 each year. It's a bully old-fashioned ass-whooping. They outplayed america successful each facet of the game. It's 1 of the worst games I've seen from us."