With a win or go home final game remaining, the first-round matchup between the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the Indiana Fever is ratcheting up the drama in the 2026 WNBA playoffs.
The series is a rematch of the 2025 semifinals that saw the Aces eliminate the injury-riddled Fever with a buzzer-beater in Game 5. The two teams have pushed each other to the limit again in this best-of-three matchup.
When the Aces came out of Game 1 with a dominant 102-85 win on Sunday in Las Vegas, the Fever were able to adjust. Indiana protected its homecourt with a 99-89 Game 2 victory in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
The rubber match is Thursday, back in Las Vegas. The two teams face off at 9 p.m. ET (USA/CNBC).
Here’s what both teams will need to do to advance:
Las Vegas Aces
Channel the emotions of losing Game 2
It’s safe to say the emotions were high for both teams in Game 2, which saw the final minutes devolve into a fouling fracas that featured Aces star A’ja Wilson receiving a technical after she confronted a fan who she said pointed and stepped toward her from his seat near the baseline.
After condemning the fan’s actions as “unacceptable” and apologizing publicly to her team for her own role in the confrontation, Wilson downplayed there being an emotional component to the game.
“This is playoff basketball, they're holding their backs against the wall,” Wilson said. “So, I don't think any tempers were playing (a part), I don't think the heat of the game or whatever was hot. It was just that it's playoff time. No feelings matter right now, we’ve got to play some good basketball.”
While Wilson is correct the Aces have to play better basketball, the idea that feelings are irrelevant didn’t apply to the Fever.
When Fever star Caitlin Clark picked up a technical foul in the second quarter, it bolstered her team into a more aggressive mode they sustained throughout the game. Clark also said the loss in Game 1 powered a more “different mentality” for the Fever after they were too “soft” in Game 2.
That’s exactly what the Aces will need to channel.
Clark also said the Fever were already preparing for the officials to “swallow the whistle” in Game 3, while Aces coach Becky Hammon expressed frustration about physicality of the game — even though the Aces shot 34 free throws compared with 24 for the Fever.
Get somebody else involved offensively
In a credit to the Fever’s defense, Wilson was out of rhythm for Game 2. She finished 22 points and nine rebounds, but shot 5-for-11 from the field.
Aces guard Jackie Young did all she could with 31 points, five assists and four rebounds, but Aces need more from everyone on the roster. Point guard Chelsea Gray was held to 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting and handed out seven assists. While Mai Yamamoto is usually a spark of the bench, she went scoreless along with four other Aces players in Game 2.
Player better defense on Caitlin Clark
Despite throwing up at halftime, Clark came out of Game 2 with 27 points and career-high 15 assist. She also became the first player in WNBA history with at least 25 points and 15 assists in a game (regular season or playoffs).
Hammon said the Aces were poor overall defensively and “a step behind all night.”
Clark can’t be allowed another historic night and Game 3, but it appears Hammon has already pinpointed exactly where the Aces need to improve.
"Caitlin got a couple rhythm looks. We left our feet a couple times. She got us in the air, but then she got down in the paint and continued to kind of slice and dice us. And you have to stay solid,” Hamon said. “You have to play great one-on-one defense. Where the other day I thought we had a lot of great one-on-one moments. I can't recall where I'm thinking, 'Oh, that was a really great one-on-one defensive play’”
Indiana Fever
Keep feeding the Big 3
The Fever’s big three of Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston was clicking on all cylinders in Tuesday night’s win.
Clark’s stellar night, which included seven rebounds, also saw her score or assist on 58 points — which is tied for the most in a playoff game in WNBA history. Boston recorded 22 points while Kelsey Mitchell added 26.
The backcourt looked completely different from Game 1, where Mitchell and Clark combined to shoot 10-for-33.
Fever coach Stephanie White emphasized Clark’s game management and defensive energy postgame.
“It's what we need from her, night in and night out," White said. "And she was the catalyst for us here tonight, and I think she's going to just take it to another level when we go to Game 3.”
Build on defensive success
In Tuesday’s win, Indiana didn’t look at all like a team that has had defensive issues all season. They’ll need to continue that in Las Vegas.
They gave up up 26 points in the paint, won plenty of one-on-one matchups and made life difficult for Aces players even when they didn’t have the ball. White credited the defensive success to an increase in physicality, initiating contact earlier and rotating aggressively.
White held a smile back when a reporter asked about Game 2 marking the highest average pickup point that team has posted in a game since 2024, reflecting the point on the court where Fever defenders began closely guarding the Aces’ ball handlers.
“You have to do that,” White said. “Chelsea Gray is one of the best in the world. You can't allow her to just get the ball down the floor or to heave it from the opposite free throw line. Jackie (Young), when she gets going in transition, it is so dangerous.”
White added that any player in the WNBA is dangerous with open space, and that’s something the Aces simply didn’t have much of on Tuesday.
Another Stephanie White coaching clinic
For all of the criticism levied against White following Game 1, the Fever coach was stellar on Tuesday night.
From defensive adjustments to rotational choices, White made all of the right calls to ensure a Game 2 win.
She gave rookie guard Raven Johnson 23 minutes of play time off the bench; a smart move considering how the South Carolina product’s defense bolstered the overall success on that end of the ball.
Offensively, the White’s calls kept the ball moving for the Fever, who also moved well off ball with aggressive and frequent cuts.
But maybe most importantly, White kept her team composed when things got chaotic down the stretch.
During the timeout following Wilson’s technical, White said she was telling her team not to let the Aces use an emotional moment to gain their own momentum.
“We just talked about poise and composure,” White said. “We’ve got to stay locked in.”
If that continues in Las Vegas, the WNBA could be looking at a major first-round upset.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How the Indiana Fever can upset defending champions Las Vegas Aces in WNBA playoffs
