Caitlin Clark played O.K. in the Fever’s do-or-die elimination game in Vegas on Thursday night. The league’s four-time MVP, A’ja Wilson, played better.
Indiana held Wilson to her “bad” game on the road in Game 2, when she put up just 22 points. Well, the W’s best all-around player wasted no time bouncing back on her home court to the tune of a game-high 36 points in the 94–83 statement victory.
The most thrilling finish of the WNBA postseason so far also happened to be one of the chippiest. Early in the contest, Clark picked up a technical—her second in as many games—after giving her former Fever teammate Brianna Turner—who also was assessed a tech—a light shove out of Indiana’s player huddle. Things then took a feistier turn when Turner got tangled up with Fever guard Lexie Hull on an Aces’ offensive possession in the second quarter. Turner hooked her arm under Hull’s and the two tussled before both players tumbled onto the court. Hull was called for an off-ball foul, and a bit of chaos ensued as Fever coach Stephanie White was seen visibly protesting the call (she was later assessed a tech).
The Fever could have challenged the foul, but they didn’t ask for a challenge in their allotted amount of time, according to the game’s broadcasters.
Upon closer review, it looks like the referees may have gotten this one wrong. Turner got away with a dangerous foul on Hull, but it didn’t appear to be much more than that. And to give due credit to the WNBA officiating team, they kept things under control amid rising competitive tensions and did their best to call it both ways. One bad foul should not be the talk of the game. The Aces’ Big Three should, led by the inimitable A’ja Wilson.
Through the first half, Wilson was shooting 87.5% from the field, seemingly on her way to a historic night just one day after Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale set a new WNBA playoff points record. Wilson ended up with a double-double of 36 points and 10 rebounds, going 11-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Chelsea Gray, who was long due a big game of her own, finished second in scoring with 23 points and was particularly clutch down the stretch; Jackie Young followed up with 18 points to round out the Big Three Show in Vegas.
The Aces have now gone 11–1 in playoff series over the last five seasons, and Wilson’s generational Herculean performances year after year remind fans why.
“Regular season’s cute. I know, that’s so cute, oh my God, everyone can come see us,” Wilson said in a postgame interview. “But this is the moment where everyone should be at, this is the moment that we live for. So for us to show up in these spaces and lean on each other and show resilience, you never get tired of it.”
Over on Indiana, the Fever’s own Big Three stumbled through scoring woes at the worst possible time.
With Vegas up 86–82 and less than minute remaining in the fourth, Clark inbounded a perfect ball to Kelsey Mitchell under the basket, but the ball slipped out of her hands. That offensive mishap was the story of the night for the Fever, who kept clawing their way back to single-digit deficits in the second half but couldn’t break the cycle. Clark started off hot with 11 points in the first quarter but then went more than 21 minutes between baskets from the field, ending her lackluster night with 18 points on 6-for-18 shooting with six turnovers and four blocks. Her three-point shooting went cold late in the contest, she uncharacteristically missed a key free throw and didn’t look to be on the same page as Mitchell (who went 7-for-23 from the field) on several plays.
While the Fever had no answer for their own stifled offensive possessions and missed too many shots at the rim, the Aces gradually gained momentum, play after play and stop after stop, over the final two quarters. Clark showed flashes of the prolific, unstoppable scorer she was in Game 2’s gotta-have-it win for the Fever, but it was Wilson (who else?) who took over when the game was on the line. That’s just what soon-to-be-five-time MVPs do.
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