No. 2 Las Vegas Aces and No. 6 Indiana Fever punch semifinal tickets

The GIST: One WNBA playoffs semifinal is locked in, the other depends on tonight’s winner-take-all Game 3, and just when you thought things couldn’t get spicier, the league MVP will be crowned on Sunday. The hoops drama is about to hit a crescendo — turn it up.

🃏 No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces and 🥵 No. 6 Indiana Fever to clash in semifinal: Indy stunned the No. 3 Atlanta Dream 87–85 last night, while it was business as usual for the Aces, who outmuscled the No. 7 Seattle Storm 74–73. There’s no rest for the winners though: Game 1 of the best-of-five set tips off Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, featuring two squads with vastly different playoff experience.

• The semis are unfamiliar territory for the resilient Fever, who are in the second round for the first time in a decade. Meanwhile, the perennial powerhouse Aces booked their seventh straight semis ticket with yesterday’s win. And that’s on consistency.

💪 Phoenix Mercury vs. NY Liberty Game 3 could come down to defense: The No. 4 Mercury stifled the No. 5 Liberty in Wednesday’s 86–60 Game 2 win, forcing 15 turnovers and holding the sharpshooting Libs to their lowest shooting percentage of the season…in their own gym. Phoenix’s game plan for tonight’s 9 p.m. ET tilt is simple: rinse and repeat.

• As for the reigning champs, their success isn’t so straightforward, largely due to Breanna Stewart’s knee injury. The hobbled superstar didn’t look like herself in Game 2, managing just six points, a far cry from her 18 points-per-game average.

• Waiting on the other side of this decisive Game 3? The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, who became just the second team in W playoff history to overcome a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in Wednesday’s 75–74 Game 2 win over Golden State Valkyries. Consider the court swept.