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Aces’ Becky Hammon reveals why Las Vegas played 2nd half zone vs. Mercury
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- Aces’ Becky Hammon reveals why Las Vegas played 2nd half zone vs. Mercury
The post Aces' Becky Hammon reveals why Las Vegas played 2nd half zone vs. Mercury appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The Las Vegas Aces were 89-86 winners in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury . However, they returned from the first half with a five-point deficit, with the game seeing a total of 12 lead changes and nine ties. It remained close until the fourth quarter, when Becky Hammon 's team eventually took control.
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Afterwards, the Aces head coach revealed a crucial defensive change that allowed her team to keep up.
"We score too much, it's our brand. So we just wanna mix it up. I thought we did get the ball in paint, whether it was off the pass, or penetration was really hurting us, you know, putting us very vulnerable on the backside of those threes," she said, per The Arizona Republic's Jeff Metcalfe. Hammon effectively claimed that the Aces' defense was getting exposed before she made the change.
Led by A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas play a scoring-focused brand of basketball that was not ideal against the Mercury. Phoenix continued to drive and pass to the paint on quick transitions, forcing the Aces' defense to collapse and leaving shooters wide-open.
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"So, just tried something different to maybe (if) we give up the middle so easily, so we are able to fan out and find those shooters," Hammon said, revealing a switch to zonal defense that allowed defenders to spread out and contest shots.
That came at the expense of easier shots from the middle, a tradeoff Hammon appeared comfortable making considering how the game went. Phoenix went 6-18 in the fourth quarter, converting just two of their 12 three-point attempts.
Wilson scored 12 of her 21 points in the final 14 minutes as her team registered a 22-15 fourth quarter to take the game. The Aces' bench unit completely outscored the Mercury's bench (41-16) as Dana Evans added 21 points with Jewell Loyd scoring 18.
Head coach Nate Tibbetts only used three reserve players in the game, with DeWanna Bonner leading the trio with 10 points. Becky Hammon will now be focused on Game 2, which will also be played at the Michelob Ultra Arena.
Related: Aces' A'ja Wilson makes impressive WNBA Finals history in Game 1 vs. Mercury
Related: Aces' A'ja Wilson reveals why she wore Susie Carmichael A'Ones in Game 1
