Reigning MVP A\u2019ja Wilson and top challenger Alyssa Thomas will meet for the third time this season when the Las Vegas Aces play the host Phoenix Mercury on Friday.<\/p>\n
Aces center Wilson and Mercury point forward Thomas are in a race with injured Minnesota center Napheesa Collier for the award that Wilson has won three times in the last five seasons.<\/p>\n
The Aces (19-14) enter on a five-game winning streak after defeating defending league champion New York 83-77 on Wednesday, and now look to gain another game on Phoenix (19-12).<\/p>\n
The Mercury have not played since having a three-game winning streak broken Sunday in a 74-66 home loss to the Atlanta Dream (who sit atop the Eastern Conference at 21-11).<\/p>\n
Wilson had 17 points and 16 rebounds against the Liberty, getting seven rebounds (five offensive) in the fourth quarter as the Aces overcame a two-point deficit after three.<\/p>\n
Guard Jewell Loyd had 21 points and five 3-pointers in her eighth game off the bench. The Aces are 7-1 since she took that role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just try to come in and get a rhythm, try to see what we need,\u201d said Loyd, who is averaging 15.5 points off the bench and 10.4 as a starter.<\/p>\n
The teams split the first two in the series, each winning on the other\u2019s home floor. Wilson had 26 and 18 in the Aces\u2019 84-81 victory in Phoenix on June 29. She did not play in the Mercury\u2019s 76-70 victory June 15.<\/p>\n
Both Wilson and Thomas set WNBA records in the last week. Wilson had the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in league history in a 94-86 victory over Connecticut last Sunday, when she also tied Tina Charles\u2019 league record with six 30\/15 games.<\/p>\n
Thomas became the first player in league history to record three straight triple-doubles (she was also the first player with two) in a 95-60 victory over Indiana on Aug. 7, a streak that ended in the loss to Atlanta.<\/p>\n
Thomas has 16 double-doubles this season. Wilson has 15. Chicago\u2019s Angel Reese leads the league with 17.<\/p>\n
Wilson is second to Collier in scoring (22.0) and second to Reese in rebounds (9.8). Thomas is averaging 16.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and a league-high 9.0 assists.<\/p>\n
The Mercury, in the last of a four-game homestand, welcomed the recent break before a three-game road trip that begins Sunday and ends with a rematch in Las Vegas on Aug. 21.<\/p>\n
The Mercury played nine games in 19 days after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all looking forward to having these days off to reset mentally, physically,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n
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