Watch Las Vegas Aces vs Los Angeles Sparks free live stream

Two WNBA teams looking for their first win since the Olympic break take the court on Sunday, August 18, when the Las Vegas Aces welcome the Los Angeles Sparks to Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NBA TV. Fans who want to watch this WNBA game can do so for free via FuboTV and DirecTV Stream, both of which offer a free trial, or via SlingTV, which does not offer a free trial but does have special offers.

The Aces are in the second half of a back-to-back after losing a game to the New York Liberty on Saturday. After losing just one home game all of last season, the Aces have already lost six games at Michelob ULTRA Arena this season, including their last game before the break.

The Sparks are bottom of the table and looking to rebound from their home loss to the Liberty. Through three games this season, Los Angeles holds a 2-1 lead over Las Vegas, with the home team winning every game and no game being decided by more than 7 points.

• WATCH THE GAME FOR FREE HERE

WHO: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Las Vegas Aces

When: Sunday, August 18, 6 p.m. EST

Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas

Electricity: FuboTV (free trial); Sling; DirecTV Stream

Tickets: StubHub, *VividSeats* and SeatGeek

• New customers who buy tickets via VividSeats offers $20 off a ticket order of $200 or more by using the promo code MassLive20 during the checkout process.*

Gear: Shop jerseys, shirts, hats, hoodies and more at Fanatics.com.

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Less than a week after the Olympics, the hunt for the WNBA playoffs has resumed

By WG RAMIREZ, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Back to your regular schedule in the WNBA.

Less than a week after twelve of the world's best players teamed up to win the gold medal for the U.S. Olympic team, they are frenemies again.

With just over a month to go before the end of the season, all 12 players on the national team that beat France 67-66 last Sunday to win an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal in women's basketball have played at least one game and the battle for playoff spots has resumed.

“I think that's the beauty of our league, that we kind of flip the switch in those moments,” Olympic MVP A'ja Wilson said. “We all know what we want now. We've checked the gold medal box, now it's really time to get going.”

Wilson and the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces opened their post-Olympic break on Saturday against league-leading New York Liberty and reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 23 points, Jonquel Jones had a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds and the Liberty secured a playoff spot with a 79-67 victory over the Aces in a highly anticipated matchup that many believe could be a preview of the WNBA Finals.

The Liberty (23-4), who lost to the Aces (16-9) in four games in last year's WNBA finals, are three games ahead of the Connecticut Sun and are in first place in the overall standings.

The Sun opened their post-Olympic break on Friday with a 109-91 win over the Dallas Wings, with DeWanna Bonner scoring 29 points and Alyssa Thomas posting a double-double with 12 points and 14 assists.

Thomas, who was competing in the Olympics for the first time, said it had become natural for the players to go from being teammates to being opponents.

“As athletes, we're generally used to playing on different teams, whether it's overseas or Olympic teams,” Thomas said. “I just think we all have a lot of experience adjusting and playing with different people. I think that's an advantage we have. It's no different than going overseas and playing with a completely different group of players.”

Minnesota star and MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who has led the Lynx to a 2-0 start since the season resumed Thursday, said there was plenty of fun trash talk in Paris, with players mentioning “little scuffles that some people were involved in or talking about other people's plays … we talked about Kah (Kahleh Cooper) throwing over us on that damn (buzzer-beating) shot in Phoenix.”

“I think when so many ambitious people come together, you can't help but insult each other,” said Collier. “It's all very good-natured. We play together abroad, there are transfers. The league is so small that you feel really comfortable with everyone.”

“We're competitive and everyone wants to win, so it's fun to talk about it. It's fun to get together and then go back to our other teams and get right back into it.”

It was Ionescu's first trip to the Olympics and, as the youngest member of the national team, she took the time to build relationships and bonds with players she would normally compete against for five months.

“I think we all became really close,” Ionescu said. “We were together for a month and I think we were able to just talk about the games and funny things that happened throughout the year. I think you get to know a lot of other players during that time, a lot of other players' families, and that's how friendships develop. We play each other every night, but for that month we were all on the same team and it was really cool to see that camaraderie develop.”

However, the camaraderie was put aside on Saturday as the teams quickly returned to their rivalry after stadium announcer Chet Buchanan recognized the eight Olympians: Ionescu and Stewart from New York, and Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Megan Gustafson (Spain) and Tiffany Hayes (Azerbaijan) from Las Vegas.

Las Vegas built an early 11-point lead and was up by four after the first quarter before New York started the second quarter with a 13-2 run, took the momentum and went into halftime with a 42-36 lead. New York kept the sellout crowd of 10,397 quiet by defeating the Aces 55-39 with a dominating performance in the final three quarters.

“It's over, it's over, it's behind us – it really doesn't matter,” Wilson said after the game about the Olympic break. “We took care of this thing, now we're here. I think our will wasn't there for 40 minutes. And it doesn't matter if we had a break or not.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article