UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Las Vegas never had a professional sports champion – until Sunday.

Chelsea Gray scored 20 points to lead the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title, and the city’s first pro title, with a 78-71 win over the Connecticut Sun in Game 4.

Gray went 9 of 13 from the floor, and was named Finals MVP after averaging 18.3 points.

Riquana Williams added 17 points, Kelsey Plum scored 16, Jackie Young had 13, and league MVP A’ja Wilson had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

As the buzzer sounded, Wilson grabbed the ball and stomped the floor before being mobbed by her teammates.

We champs! We champs! We champs!” Wilson screamed at teammates as they pulled on their championship hats and T-shirts before the trophy ceremony.

She hopes this is just the beginning for the franchise.

“You see it. You see it,” Wilson said in the on-court celebration. “This is what we’re building. This is what we’re doing. This is it. I’m so happy right now.”

Courtney Williams had 17 points to lead Connecticut and Alyssa Thomas posted her second straight triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Jonquel Jones added 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 12.

“When you come up short it certainly, really hurts,” Sun Coach Curt Miller said. “But that means that there was something that mattered, and something special among that group of players.”

For Aces Coach Becky Hammon, who didn’t get a title in her standout playing career, the ring completed a decades-long quest. She left an assistant coach position with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs to take over in Las Vegas, and the move paid off.

“They’re unbelievable on the court but they’re unbelievable humans, first and foremost,” Hammon said. “They care about each other. They invest in each other. It’s been an absolute honor to be their coach. I saw excellence and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Hammon also paid tribute to former Aces coach Bill Laimbeer, who was on the floor for the ceremony. “He put this team together and saw the pieces,” Hammon said.

Aces owner Mark Davis, who also owns the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, wasn’t with his football team Sunday. He was in Connecticut to get a trophy. He hoisted it, then turned it over to gleeful players, who did the same.

“Las Vegas, we are world champions,” Davis said.

It was a six-point lead in the fourth when Kelsey Plum was called for a flagrant foul after running into Bonner while the Sun guard was attempting a 3-pointer, sending her to the floor holding her right ankle. Bonner hit all three free throws before a short jumper by Jonquel Jones cut the lead to a point. The Sun then tied the game at 67 on a free throw by Courtney Williams and took a 71-70 lead on two fouls shots from Brionna Jones.

But Las Vegas had the answers.

Riquana Williams’ 3-pointer put the Aces back on top and Gray’s step-back jumper extended the lead to 75-71 with under a minute left. Wilson then stole a pass and Plum hit a short jump shot to secure the win.

Plum’s 3-pointer from the left baseline sparked an early 12-0 run for Vegas that shot them out to a 16-6 lead. The Aces, who gave up 34 points to the Sun in the first quarter of Game 3, led 16-12 after 10 minutes on Sunday.

Gray wasn’t a WNBA All-Star this season, nor was she a first-team all-league pick, and voiced her displeasure about that.

In the end, she got the last word.

“They can keep that All-Star and first team,” Gray said. “I got the ring.”

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