LAS VEGAS — — Kelsey Plum scored 29 points, A’ja Wilson had 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Seattle Storm 83-76 on Tuesday night to advance to the WNBA playoffs for the sixth straight season.

Las Vegas, which has won 11 straight home playoff games, won the best-of-three series to set up a 2023 WNBA Finals rematch against top-seeded New York that begins Sunday. The Aces are trying to become the first team to win three straight titles since Houston won four in a row from 1997-2000 in the league’s first four seasons.

Wilson set a WNBA record by scoring 20-plus points and at least 10 rebounds in 13 career playoff games, passing Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker. The WNBA MVP, who missed her first six shots in Game 1, went 5 of 7 from the field in the first quarter and finished 9 of 17.

After Seattle took its first lead with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter, the Aces scored the next seven points to take a 71-65 lead on a Jackie Young layup.

The Storm had a chance to make it 78-74 with 2:22 left, but Ezi Magbegor missed both free throws. Chelsea Gray answered at the other end with a jumper from the free throw line for an eight-point lead. Tiffany Hayes sealed it with a layup in traffic with 46 seconds left.

Gray had 12 points and nine assists for Las Vegas. Plum, who was limited to just two points in Game 1, finished 11 of 15 from the field.

Gabby Williams scored 20 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle. Magbegor, who missed Game 1 with a concussion, added 14 points, Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 13 and Jewell Loyd was limited to nine points on 3 of 11 shooting. Seattle was 6 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half before finishing 8 of 23.

Las Vegas made nine straight shots in the first quarter to build an early double-digit lead. Wilson completed a three-point play and Gray sank a 3-pointer on the next possession as Las Vegas opened the game with a 15-4 run. Plum and Gray each added 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to extend the lead to 23-7.

Wilson, Plum and Gray combined for all 28 of Las Vegas’ points in the first quarter.

Seattle went on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to pull within 39-38, while Las Vegas went more than four minutes without a field goal. But the Aces closed the half on a 6-0 run, capped by Wilson’s two free throws with 2.8 seconds left.

——

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball