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.
Sparks end Lynx’s run
Rae Burrell scored 17 points, and Erica Wheeler had four in a game-ending 8-0 run and the Los Angeles Sparks ended Minnesota’s 10-game winning streak, beating the WNBA-leading Lynx 89-82.
Kayla McBride hit a 3-pointer to give Minnesota (25-7) an 82-81 lead, but the Lynx missed their final seven shots and went scoreless over the final 4:53.
Nneka Ogwumike had a go-ahead layup, Wheeler hit a pull-up 10-footer, and Monique Akoa Makani and Wheeler had the final two baskets in the late run for Los Angeles (12-18). The Sparks beat the Lynx for the first time in three tries this season.
Dearica Hamby had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Sparks, and Ogwumike had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Rookie Olivia Miles finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Lynx.
Fire beat reeling Tempo to snap skid
Carla Leite had 27 points and 11 assists and the Portland Fire snapped a five-game skid with a 97-83 win over Toronto, sending the Tempo to their eighth straight loss.
Leite made 5 of 12 shots with two 3-pointers and 15 of 17 free throws for Portland (11-19), which beat the Tempo 99-80 in Toronto on May 23 in the first matchup between the expansion teams.
Megan DiLeo added 17 points for the Fire. Bridget Carleton had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and reserve Frieda Buhner scored 10 points.
Nyara Sabally had 17 points for Toronto (10-21), which has lost 12 of its last 13 games. Julie Allemande pitched in with 11 points and 12 assists.
