LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes added 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces held off the Atlanta Dream 83-72 on Friday night to earn the two-time reigning champions a spot in the playoffs.

Kelsey Plum had 18 points and four assists for the Aces (18-12), who moved into a tie with the Seattle Storm for fourth place in the WNBA standings.

Allisha Gray had 17 points for the Dream (10-21), who remain one game behind Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot after their fourth straight loss. Rhyne Howard had 23 points but was just 4 of 19 shooting, 1 of 10 inside the arc, and Jordin Canada scored 10.

Chelsea Gray had just four points for Las Vegas, but they were crucial in the final minutes. She had a steal and 15 seconds later made a pullup jumper that made it 77-67 with less than three minutes left. The Dream were back to seven when Gray continued to probe the interior defense before making a fadeaway jumper in the lane that made it 81-72 with 1:05 left.

Hays scored 10 points in the first quarter to help the Aces take a 22-18 lead. Wilson had 14 by halftime as Las Vegas made it 44-38.

___

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