Caitlin Clark attributed a "brutal finish" to her role in the Indiana Fever's 86-84 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night. The pivotal moments came in the final seconds of regulation and overtime, where missed free throws and a late turnover by Clark proved costly.
With seven seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Fever leading 75-72, Clark went to the foul line needing to make one of two free throws to extend the lead to two possessions. She missed both attempts. The Aces' Chelsea Gray capitalized, hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
"Obviously just can't happen," Clark said of the missed free throws. "And those are free throws I usually make, and [it's] certainly frustrating. Obviously one of them gives us a two-possession lead. Kind of cost my team there for sure, so that's on me."
Clark had another opportunity to impact the game in overtime. With the Fever holding an 84-83 lead and approximately 15 seconds remaining, Clark's attempted pass was deflected and stolen by Aces star A'ja Wilson. Gray followed with another game-winning three-pointer on the ensuing possession, securing the 86-84 victory for Las Vegas.
Clark was on the floor after the turnover as the Fever played the final possession defensively down a player. "First of all, A'ja had a great stop defensively," Gray commented on the play. "We always say it’s going to come down to our defense. And she had a great stop defensively, got it to me on the outlet. I knew [coach Becky Hammon] wasn’t going to call a timeout. So I hit it to Jackie [Young] and could go score the basketball. But she hunted me on the 3-point line, [I] looked up at the clock again, knocked it down."
Clark finished the game with 20 points but struggled from the field, shooting 7-for-20. She also recorded eight turnovers. For the Aces, A'ja Wilson led the way with 26 points and 16 rebounds.