Aces Beat Fever in OT; Finals Begin Friday

The Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 107-98 in overtime in a winner-take-all Game 5 to advance to the WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury, with Game 1 set for Friday in Las Vegas. A'ja Wilson scored 35 points and Jackie Young had 32 points and 10 assists, while Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd provided key late contributions. The victory caps a dramatic turnaround after a midseason 14-14 stretch and a 16-game regular-season winning streak to finish as the Aces chase a third title in four years. The Finals will be played as a best-of-seven. The sixth-seeded Fever, hampered by season-long injuries to stars including Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham, lost Kelsey Mitchell to an in-game leg issue and saw Aliyah Boston foul out late but still had six players score in double figures. The deciding Game 5 going to overtime — only the second such occurrence in WNBA history — underscored how tightly contested the series was.