LAS VEGAS -- A'ja Wilson could have used Tuesday's confrontation with a fan in Indiana to fire her up for the deciding Game 3 of her Las Vegas Aces' first-round WNBA playoff series with the Indiana Fever.
But she said she really didn't do that. Instead, she focused on taking care of business. Wilson had 36 points and 10 rebounds in the No. 3 seed Aces' 94-83 victory over the No. 6 seed Fever on Thursday at Michelob Ultra Arena.
"I have my days. I have my moments because I'm human," Wilson said about the incident in the Ace's Game 2 loss in Indianapolis, where she earned a technical foul but no subsequent discipline from the league.
"But after a while, I understood I didn't want to be a distraction to myself and my team. And I knew what we had to do coming into tonight. So I put it behind me."
The Aces put the Fever behind them and moved on to the WNBA semifinals for the eighth season in a row. They await Friday's winner of Game 3 of the Dallas-Golden State series.
The Aces will start that best-of-five series in San Francisco if the No. 2 seed Valkyries win or Las Vegas will host Games 1 and 2 if the No. 7 Wings prevail. Either way, the Aces are in familiar territory, having won three of the past four WNBA championships.
They advanced Thursday in the same way they've claimed those titles: Wilson led the way, with guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young alongside her contributing. This is the sixth season the trio has played together for the Aces.
Before Game 3, Las Vegas starting forward Stephanie Talbot was ruled out because of a leg injury. Guard Jewell Loyd moved into the starting lineup, and Aces coach Becky Hammon let Gray and Young know to prepare for a long work shift.
"I just told them to be ready to run 40," Hammon said. "You're not coming out until you tell me you need [to]."
Young and Gray indeed played 40 minutes, combining for 41 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds. Wilson played 37 minutes, and Loyd -- who had 11 points -- played 35.
The Aces know their way around the game this time of year, showing a little gamesmanship. About three minutes after the tip, Aces forward Brianna Turner appeared to deliberately walk into the Fever's on-court huddle and got a reaction out of Clark, who pushed her out of it. Both were given technical fouls.
It didn't rattle Clark, who was playing in just her fifth playoff game. She had 11 points in the first quarter as both teams were on fire offensively and ended the period tied at 31. But the Aces outscored the Fever 23-17 in the second quarter.
Indiana closed to within 82-80 with three minutes left on Kelsey Mitchell's 3-pointer. But after the Fever got the ball back, Mitchell missed a shot and then was called for a loose ball foul that the Fever challenged. The challenge was unsuccessful, and all the momentum went back to the Aces.
Mitchell finished with 23 points, Aliyah Boston had 19 and Clark had 18 for Indiana.
"You've got to give credit to the Aces," Clark said. "I thought they played well. I thought they were ready to go, and that's what championship teams do."
Wilson and the Aces are seeking their fourth WNBA title, which would tie them for most with the Minnesota Lynx, Seattle Storm and Houston Comets. Wilson, who is expected to be named the WNBA's MVP for the fifth time, said Tuesday's confrontation is not something she will dwell upon.
"I prayed a lot. I cried a lot," Wilson said of the time between the high emotions of Game 2 and her laser focus to start Game 3. "I talked to a lot of different people, and the amount of love that I received today, the amount of Bible verses that I received, it reminded me I'm covered.
"So I can't really worry about anything else. I'm grateful to be surrounded by people that could constantly lift me up. Once I put that on the back burner, I had to come up. I had to show up for my team today, and I'm glad we got the win."