A’ja Wilson and Tiffany Hayes both recorded double-doubles on Friday as the Las Vegas Aces defeated the visiting Atlanta Dream 83-72 to secure their sixth consecutive playoff berth.

Wilson paired 26 points with 16 rebounds and added five assists and five blocks for two-time defending champion Las Vegas (19-12), which had lost five of its last seven games entering Friday. Hayes, making just her third start of the season for Jackie Young (rest), had 20 points, 10 boards and made 3 of 4 3-pointers.

Kelsey Plum made four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points for the Aces, who outshot Atlanta 44.9 percent to 36.6 percent.

Allisha Gray scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Dream, who were without third-leading scorer and leading rebounder Tina Charles (due to personal reasons). Charles recorded the first triple-double in franchise history with the Seattle Storm on Wednesday.

Rhyne Howard scored 12 points and Jordin Canada added 10 as Atlanta (10-21) lost its fourth straight game. The Dream trail the Chicago Sky by one game for the final playoff spot with nine games remaining.

Atlanta pulled within 66-63 on a 3-pointer by Howard with 8:51 left in the game before Las Vegas pulled away.

Wilson scored the Aces’ next four points and Plum buried her final 3-pointer to give Las Vegas a 73-64 lead with 6:36 remaining. The Aces took a 75-64 lead on Wilson’s pull-up midway through the quarter before Hayes essentially sealed the win with a scoop layup that made it 79-67 with 2:12 remaining.

Las Vegas outscored the Dream 34-24 in the paint and held a 14-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

Hayes had 10 points to put the Aces ahead 22-18 after the first quarter. Wilson’s 14 points led all first-half scorers as Las Vegas went into halftime with a 44-38 lead.

The Aces took the lead for good on Wilson’s bucket, which made it 17-15 with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Las Vegas extended its lead to 39-29 with 3:51 left before halftime when Sydney Colson served Plum for a fastbreak layup.

Hayes scored seven more points in the third quarter, including a layup in the final seconds, to give the Aces a 65-58 lead entering the fourth quarter.

–Field Level Media