Jackie Young's 21 and 10 Put the Aces Up 1-0

Photo: WNBA.com. Official Jackie Young headshot, Las Vegas Aces.

Jackie Young finished Game 1 with 21 points and 10 assists, her third career playoff double-double, as the defending-champion Aces beat the Fever 102-85 and took a 1-0 lead into Tuesday's elimination-threat Game 2 in Indianapolis.

The hard number is the 21-and-10 line next to A'ja Wilson's 38 and 16 and Chelsea Gray's 14 and 8. That trio scored 93 of Las Vegas's 102 points on 59.4 percent shooting, and Gray's eight assists moved her to 397 career playoff dimes, past Courtney Vandersloot for second in WNBA history.

Read the box and the shape of the night is plain. Young played 34 minutes, shot 57.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three, and added three steals, per CBS. The six turnovers were the cost of carrying that much of the ball. Jewell Loyd added 10 points on 66.7 percent shooting. Las Vegas led 62-47 at the half, and Wilson already had 22 points on 9-of-11 by then, per Yahoo. A 10-assist line next to a first half like that reads as a second creator cashing in while Indiana had to account for Wilson first.

Wilson still carried the headline numbers, hours after the AP named her its Player of the Year for a third straight season. She went 15-of-19 from the field with four blocks and became the first player in any WNBA game, regular season or postseason, to post 35 points and 15 rebounds while shooting at least 75 percent. It was her league-record 11th 30-point playoff game, and her 18th career 20-point double-double, also a league mark. The tape that mattered for Tuesday was how often Young and Gray kept the second and third options live so Indiana could not dig every possession into Wilson's body. Without that, Boston and the Fever's help package can sit on the post and dare the wings to make them pay.

Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, the highest-scoring twosome in a single WNBA season, combined for 10-of-33 from the field. Clark went 6-of-17 with six turnovers and still posted 15 points and a career playoff-high 10 assists. Mitchell finished with 12 on 4-of-16, per Yahoo. "For the most part, we did a decent job of defending the 3-point shots," Becky Hammon said, per CBS. Boston led Indiana with 18 points and eight rebounds while dealing with a lower-leg issue.

The turnover column hurt Indiana more than the shooting did. Las Vegas scored 28 points off 17 Fever turnovers. "There's no defense for 28 points off turnovers," Stephanie White said, per CBS. Her other postgame line, per ESPN, was about the lesson: "Oftentimes, you have to be humbled first, right?" The fix has to start with how Indiana tags Young when Wilson gets the ball on the block, because leaving Young free for a 21-and-10 night is how a series tilts after one game.

Young's regular-season base made that Game 1 line make sense. She averaged 18.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists this year for a three-time champion who is now a four-time All-Star. Career marks sit at 14.8, 4.2, and 4.6. Ten assists in a playoff opener sits well above that 4.6 career rate. Gray still runs the delay game that has defined this dynasty, and her climb to 397 playoff assists keeps the Aces' half-court grammar intact even when Wilson is the scoring engine.

Game 2 is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and it flips the venue and the stakes. Every first-round series is best-of-three, the same format that has Breanna Stewart's Liberty one win from ousting the No. 1 Lynx. Indiana is already in a must-win, and a Game 3, if needed, would be Thursday in Las Vegas. The adjustment chart for White starts with Young's second-side creation. If Indiana loads Wilson and still leaves Young free to create, the 21-and-10 line can repeat and the series ends. If the Fever tag Young earlier and live with a contested Wilson touch, Game 2 becomes a different possession battle.

Sources

• ESPN / Kareem Copeland. Sep 28, 2026. Wilson 38/16/4 blocks on 15-of-19; first WNBA player 35+15 at 75%+ FG; Young 21/10 third career playoff double-double; Gray 14/8; trio 93 of 102; Aces 59.4% FG; Clark 15/10 career playoff-high assists; Mitchell 12; Clark/Mitchell 10-of-33; Boston 18/8; final 102-85; Game 2 Tuesday Indiana; White "humbled first" quote.
• Yahoo Sports / WNBA Playoffs Game 1 Takeaways. Sep 2026. Young 21/10; Gray 397 career playoff assists past Vandersloot (390) for second all-time; Wilson 38/16; 22 on 9-of-11 at half; Aces led 62-47 at half; AP POY named earlier Sunday; Loyd 10; Clark 15/10 on 6-of-17 with 6 turnovers; Mitchell 12 on 4-of-16; best-of-three; Game 2 Tuesday 6:30 p.m. ET Prime Video in Indianapolis; Game 3 Thursday in Las Vegas if needed.
• CBS Sports Game Tracker. Game 2 preview and Game 1 box; Young 34 min, 57.1% FG, 42.9% 3PT, 3 steals, 6 turnovers; Loyd 66.7% FG; Wilson 15-of-19; 28 points off 17 Fever turnovers; White and Hammon quotes; series 1-0 Aces; Gainbridge Fieldhouse Tuesday.
• WNBA.com Jackie Young player page. 2026 season 18.9 PPG / 4.4 RPG / 6.8 APG; career 14.8 / 4.2 / 4.6; 3x champion; 4x All-Star.
• Photo: WNBA.com. Official Jackie Young headshot, Las Vegas Aces.