Wilson scores season-high 35 as Aces beat Sparks 89-72

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored a season-high 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Los Angeles Sparks 89-72 on Saturday night.

Dearica Hamby had 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Kelsey Plum added 17 points and eight assists and Chelsea Gray scored 10 points with seven assist for Las Vegas (11-2), which has won nine of its last 10 games.

The Sparks lost their first game under interim coach Fred Williams, who took over after Derek Fisher was fired Tuesday. Williams went 131-153 in 10 seasons as a head coach with Utah, Atlanta, and Tulsa/Dallas.

Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles (5-8) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson added 13 points and Jordin Canada had 10 points and eight assists. Ogwumike, who has 4,812 career points, became the 25th player in league history to score at least 4,800.

Chennedy Carter scored inside to give the Sparks an 18-13 lead with about 4 minutes left in the first quarter but Las Vegas answered with a 12-0 spurt — including seven points by Wilson — to take a seven-point lead into the second. The Aces took a 52-35 advantage into the break and led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

Jackie Young, whose 19.2 points per game this season are third most in the WNBA, missed her second consecutive game due to an ankle injury suffered in a loss to the Connecticut Sun on June 3.

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