Gray hits buzzer-beating 3s after Clark's mistakes to lift Aces past Fever 86-84 in OT
INDIANAPOLIS -- Chelsea Gray made two buzzer-beating 3-pointers after Caitlin Clark's uncharacteristic mistakes, the first to force overtime and the second to give the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces an 86-84 victory over the Indiana Fever on Thursday night.
Clark missed two free throws with seven seconds left in regulation and Indiana up by three, then lost the ball with seven seconds to go in overtime and the Fever a point ahead. Clark had 20 points and eight assists along with eight turnovers.
A’ja Wilson had 26 points, 13 rebounds and the key defensive stop against Clark that set up Gray’s winner. Jackie Young added 22 points, including a franchise-record 15 in a row to close the first half and open the second. Gray had 11 points, hitting three 3s.
Las Vegas overcame a 20-point first-half deficit, a three-point deficit at the end of regulation and a two-point deficit at the end of overtime to salvage a win in the three-game season series.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 28 points, but missed a late free throw in regulation before Clark's misses. Aliyah Boston added 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Las Vegas erased its big deficit by closing the first half on a 15-0 run to cut a 42-22 deficit to 42-37. Young scored the final 13 points of the half, the first basket of the second half and five of the first seven points in the second half to give the Aces a 44-42 lead.
Indiana finally found its shooting touch midway through the fourth quarter.
It rallied from a 64-55 deficit with 6:16 left and led 75-72 when Gray hit the first of her two buzzer-beaters. Gray did it again in overtime knocking down a shot to erase an 86-84 deficit. Both plays withstood replay reviews.
The game was stopped for several minutes with 4:38 left in the third quarter when security escorted a woman, who was sitting in the front row directly across from the Aces bench, out through a tunnel. A few minutes later, she assisted back to her seat and two men who were seated near her were taken out.
The Fever issued a statement that said one fan was removed then elected not to return when it was determined the fan conduct policy had not been violated. Young told reporters someone had been “chirping" all night and at that point, she thought he had crossed the line. Young declined to elaborate on what was said.
Aces: At Minnesota on Saturday.
Fever: At Chicago on Saturday.
___
