The Indiana Fever had the Las Vegas Aces on the ropes Thursday night. Stephanie White’s side held the lead late in the game, before uncharacteristic errors unraveled their upset bid in an 86-84 overtime loss.
Fever superstar Caitlin Clark found herself at the center of it all, yet again.
Dave Portnoy Rips Caitlin Clark After Costly Late-Game Mistakes vs. Aces
The box score against the Aces had Clark recording 20 points and 8 assists, but the production masked glaring issues down the stretch.
The Fever guard committed a game-high 8 turnovers, faltering at critical moments against a veteran Las Vegas roster that wouldn’t let mistakes go unpunished.
With seven seconds left in regulation and Indiana leading by three, Clark stepped to the free-throw line but missed both attempts.
The Aces capitalized immediately as Chelsea Gray drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime.
The extra period offered Clark a chance at redemption, but the script just repeated itself. Clinging to a one-point lead in the waning seconds of overtime, Clark surrendered the basketball after a suffocating defensive play by A’ja Wilson.
Gray answered the bell again, sinking another buzzer-beating triple to seal the victory for Las Vegas.
The brutal finish ignited intense reactions, and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy unleashed a scathing review of Clark’s performance on social media.
“Caitlin Clark didn’t play great tonight. 2 huge missed free throws down the stretch and a huge turnover at the end of OT. No excuses. She sucked,” Portnoy posted. “That’s the beauty of me. I always answer the bell good, bad or indifferent. Need more leaders taking accountability like I just did.”
The Fever built a 20-point lead in the first half and looked well on their way to clinching an impressive win. But the offense stagnated, and Las Vegas erased the deficit by closing the first half on a 15-0 run.
Beyond the turnovers, Clark shot just 35% from the floor, connecting on only 7-of-20 attempts from the field. She struggled from beyond the arc as well, going 2-of-10.
After the game, the Fever star refused to point fingers and shouldered the blame for a heartbreaking defeat.
“Obviously, just can’t happen. Those are free throws I usually make,” Clark said. “Certainly frustrating. Obviously, one of them gives us a two-possession lead, and I kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”
The collapse against Las Vegas marks a painful stumble for Indiana as they dropped to a 19-12 record on the season.
A franchise chasing a deep playoff run cannot afford to collapse in this manner, and the Fever need to learn to close out games against battle-tested rosters like the Aces.
Indiana will travel to face the Chicago Sky on Saturday, and have little to no margin for error if they are to regain momentum as the season grinds towards the playoffs.
