Aces spoil Bird’s final home game

A’ja Wilson scored 29 points, Kelsey Plum added 16 including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, and the Las Vegas Aces spoiled the final regular-season home game for Sue Bird, beating the Seattle Storm, 89-81. The largest crowd in Storm history packed Climate Pledge Arena to thank Bird for her two decades as the face of the franchise and one of the best women’s basketball players ever. But the Aces weren’t willing to play their part in ensuring Bird’s finale was a win. Wilson dominated the first three quarters, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young both scored 15, and the Aces never trailed in the final 28 minutes. Breanna Stewart finished with a season-high 35 points and Tina Charles added 19. Bird finished with 9 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds . . . Candace Parker scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and tipped a pass to Emma Meesseman for a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to help the Sky beat the Sun, 94-91, to set the franchise record for wins in a season. Courtney Vandersloot had 20 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals for Chicago (25-8). Jonquel Jones had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Connecticut (22-11) . . . Brittney Sykes scored 21 points. including a driving layup in the closing seconds, and the Sparks kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 79-76 win over the Mystics. Los Angeles (13-20), which snapped a six-game losing streak, is one of five teams within two games of each other vying for the final two postseason berths . . . Napheesa Collier made her season debut for Minnesota, Kayla McBride scored 20 points, and the Lynx used a fourth-quarter run to beat the the Atlanta Dream, 81-71, to keep their playoff hopes alive. Collier, Minnesota’s leading scorer (16.2 per game) last season, played for the first time since she gave birth to her daughter, Mila, in late May.