Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson ties WNBA record with 53 points

A’ja Wilson scored 53 points to tie a WNBA record for the most points in a game and the Las Vegas Aces beat the short-handed Atlanta Dream 112-100 on Tuesday night.

Wilson became only the third player in league history to score 50-plus points in a game, joining Liz Cambage (53) and Riquna Williams (51). Wilson was fouled with 51.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and made both free throws to reach the mark.

Wilson finished 16-of-23 from the field and 20-of-21 at the free-throw line.

Kelsey Plum added 20 points and Chelsea Gray nearly secured a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists for Las Vegas (29-4). The Aces reached 100-plus points for the ninth time this season.

Las Vegas led 56-55 at halftime — with a 20-point scorer on each team. Wilson had 22 points and Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard scored 21.

The Aces went 20-of-21 from the free-throw line and the Dream made all 17 attempts in the half. The teams finished with a combined 69 free-throw attempts.

Howard scored 27 points and Haley Jones added 23 for Atlanta (16-17). Danielle Robinson had 17 points, with 11 coming at the free-throw line. Allisha Gray, averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game, did not play due to an ankle injury.

Reporting by The Associated Press.