The Las Vegas Aces tied the series against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night with a 90-68 win. We saw elite performances by some players that we are used to seeing dominate in the playoffs. A'ja Wilson recorded 25 points and 9 rebounds. Jackie Young had 13 points for herself, and Jewell Loyd put up 10.
The Aces' ability to contain the Fever's star guard, Kelsey Mitchell, deserves a lot of credit here. She only shot 4-of-14 from the floor, putting her at a percentage of 28.6 — which is the lowest it has been through the entirety of the playoffs so far.
Another piece deserving of credit for this dominant Aces win is forward Nalyssa Smith. Not only did she do a great job guarding Mitchell, but she also put up some numbers herself. Smith recorded 18 points and 7 rebounds in 30 minutes on the court. Smith may also be going through this specific series with a little vengeance.
TALK THAT TALK, LYSS! 😤😤😤@NaLyssaSmith // #RaiseTheStakes pic.twitter.com/E26mDop401
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 24, 2025
NaLyssa Smith may have finally found her WNBA forever home
After being traded twice in the last year, Smith is seemingly playing at a new level. The Indiana Fever drafted Nalyssa Smith with the second-overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft. She spent three seasons with the Fever, where she averaged a total of 13.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She was a part of the squad that lost in the first round of the playoffs last season — but she hardly got any playing time, averaging 6.5 minutes per game, and recording 0 points over two games.
Over the offseason, Smith was a part of a three-team trade deal. The trade included Sophie Cunningham joining the Fever, Satou Sabally becoming a member of the Phoenix Mercury, and Nalyssa Smith ending up in Dallas.
It is no secret that the Dallas Wings had a rough year. About halfway through the season, in late June, the Wings traded Smith to the Aces for a 2027 first-round pick. This trade has seemingly been a great thing for Nalyssa and Las Vegas. She has started nearly every game for the Aces, averaging 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over her 27 games with the team. Now she finds herself facing off against the team that traded her in the semi-finals.
In Game 1 of this series, Smith only recorded 4 points in 15 minutes on the court. She was also almost taken out of game 2 early, as well, after receiving her fourth foul in the third quarter. Aces Head Coach Becky Hammon got on her for her mistakes, but left her in the game. She said, "I left her in because I needed to play her. I got on her. And I don’t like to get on players and then not give them a chance to get it right. She made a mistake, and you all probably saw me pull her over there, then let her go back to work."
So, who knows what fueled Smith's success: her not-so-great performance in game 1, the words from Becky Hammon, or the fact that she is facing her former squad? But what I do know is she will most likely need to keep it up as the series is tied and heading to Indiana, where they will have to play in front of the rowdy Fever fans.