'Played Like Ass,' Becky Hammon Video of Honest Quote Goes Viral After Aces' Loss to Valkyries

Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon had a blunt assessment of her team's performance in a 71-60 loss to the Golden State Valkyries.

Hammon tried to find a silver lining by suggesting the Aces "played like ass and only lost by [11]."

The Valkyries were the WNBA's best defensive team in the regular season and showed why to open their semifinal series. Las Vegas' Big Three of A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young combined to shoot 17-of-50 (34 percent) from the field. In the case of Wilson, it was just the sixth time all year she was under 40 percent.

Aces-Valkyries Highlights

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Golden State also had 52 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive glass, to 25 for the Aces.

"All we talked about for the last 48 hours was rebounding and blocking them out, and we did not do it. Period," Hammon told reporters.

Valkyries center Kiah Stokes went scoreless yet still had one of the biggest impacts of anybody on the floor. She hauled in 14 boards and blocked four shots as she helped neutralize Wilson.

Golden State coach Natalie Nakase called her the game's MVP.

"Her disruption, her matching up with A'ja, it's a really tough task," Nakase said. "She did an amazing job, just continue to keep her off rhythm as much as we can. … Kiah was vicious on the boards, her ability I thought today was emptying that tank. That's the Kiah Stokes we know. For sure, she made the difference today."

Any playoff series is about making adjustments. The Valkyries had a winning plan for Game 1. Now, the onus is on the Aces to adapt and get the trio of Wilson, Gray and Young back to their best.

The semifinals will resume Wednesday, so having two days off should benefit both the Vegas players and coaching staff.