WNBA semifinals preview and predictions: Can Fever topple Aces and pull another upset?

Two games. A pair of game-winning shots in the final 12 seconds. Have you caught your breath yet?

In the first game of Thursday's WNBA playoffs, Aliyah Boston hit the go-ahead shot with 7.4 seconds left to help the Indiana Fever win their first playoff series in 10 years and advance to the semifinals. A couple of hours later, Jackie Young scored on a putback with 12.4 seconds remaining to help the Las Vegas Aces return to the semifinals.

And now they'll meet on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC) in Game 1 of a best-of-five series.

On the other side of the bracket, the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx await the winner of Friday's New York Liberty-Phoenix Mercury Game 3.

Before the next round opens, we break down each matchup and predict which teams will reach the WNBA Finals.

(2) Las Vegas Aces vs. (6) Indiana Fever

Regular-season series: Indiana went 2-1 against Las Vegas

June 22: Aces 89, Fever 81 (at Las Vegas)

July 3: Fever 81 Aces 54 (at Indiana)

July 24: Fever 80, Aces 70 (at Indiana)

First round: After dropping Game 1 in Atlanta, Indiana routed the Dream at home to force Game 3. Despite trailing for almost 30 minutes, the Fever pulled out a win in a decisive Game 3.

Las Vegas won handily in its first game at home, then dropped a close Game 2 when the Storm outscored the Aces 25-14 in the fourth quarter. On Thursday, the Aces won a back-and-forth fourth quarter to hold off Seattle to win their three-game series.

What we're hearing about the Aces

Becky Hammon said she has some concern about how well the Storm shut down the Aces' 3-point shooting in Las Vegas' 74-73 Game 3 victory Thursday -- the Aces were 3-of-12 beyond the arc. That put even more pressure on center A'ja Wilson.

That said, one of the biggest plays of the game came from Young with the putback of Wilson's miss that proved to be the winning basket. The experience that the Aces get from their big three of Wilson, Young and Chelsea Gray was a major factor in pulling out their first-round series and could be pivotal for their chance to advance to the WNBA Finals again.

Hammon said the Aces didn't guard the entirety of the court in Game 2 at Seattle, which cost them. They did that better in winning Game 3, but it still came down to the wire. Even though it was nerve-wracking for the Aces, their first-round series going the distance and being tested might have been the best thing that could have happened before facing Indiana in the semifinals.

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Aces hold off Storm behind Wilson's 38 to advance in WNBA playoffs

The Las Vegas Aces topped the Seattle Storm 74-73 to take the series behind 38 points from A'ja Wilson.

What we're hearing about the Fever

Even during the regular season, as player after player went down because of injury, the Fever consistently maintained that they had big goals, and that they could make some noise in the playoffs. Mission accomplished. The outside world might have counted them out against the Dream -- go back and look at ESPN's first-round picks -- but the Fever never wavered in their belief.

After the game Thursday, Kelsey Mitchell and Natasha Howard shared glowing remarks on how special Stephanie White has been as a coach, as she has guided this group through so much adversity this season, leading White to wipe away a tear. To advance to the semifinals, this group made winning plays on both ends, but its chemistry and cohesion has been its special sauce.

How they match up

The Fever won the regular-season series 2-1 -- and both wins came with Caitlin Clark sidelined. But all three matchups were before the Aces put together a 17-game win streak that catapulted them back into the title conversation. And before Indiana's success this season, Las Vegas dominated the series: Their 16 straight wins against the Fever marked the second-longest win streak against a single opponent in WNBA history.

Gamecocks fans will be torn watching South Carolina greats Wilson and Aliyah Boston battle inside, but both teams also have fantastic guards, Mitchell for the Fever and Young, Gray and Jewell Loyd for the Aces. Las Vegas has the edge in depth and experience: This will be the team's seventh straight semifinals appearance; Indiana hasn't made it this far in the postseason since 2015.

What will most impact the series

Loyd has the chance to be an X factor, especially if she is feeling confident from beyond the arc. Her ability to stretch the defense can make a big difference in the Aces being able to take over games. Loyd doesn't have to be the superstar scorer she was for a lot of her career at Seattle, but she'll need to make an impact in every game.

Indiana needs a third scorer behind Mitchell and Boston. Can Howard fill that role? The Fever would also love to see Lexie Hull get going from beyond the arc and some big games from point guard Odyssey Sims.

Las Vegas will advance if: The Aces are able to defend at their highest level, which was the case in their Game 1 victory over Seattle. They kept the Storm uncomfortable most of that game, and they will look to do it against a Fever squad that can go on offensive dry spells. Young is the premier perimeter defender and will look to try to slow down Mitchell as much as possible, but Wilson said the Aces can't leave Young to do that all by herself. The rest of the Aces also need to provide a little more offensive support for Wilson, although she is used to carrying a very heavy load.

Indiana will advance if: The Fever have struggled with defensive consistency this season, but they'll have to be at their sharpest to slow down an Aces squad that had the league's best offense during its 16-game win streak to end the regular season. That includes defending without fouling, which has been an issue at times for Indiana. Offensively, they can't overly rely on Mitchell to score and desperately need to find more success from beyond the arc -- they made only 29% of their 3s in the first round.

Who will win the series?

Kendra Andrews: Aces in 4

Charlie Creme: Aces in 4

Kevin Pelton: Aces in 5

Alexa Philippou: Aces in 5

Michael Voepel: Aces in 5