The Indiana Fever failed to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs, falling to the Las Vegas Aces in three games.
A’ja Wilson led the way for the Aces with 36 points and 10 rebounds in the do-or-die Game 3 on Thursday, making history in the process as she tied the WNBA playoff record for the most 35-point games ever.
Chelsea Gray added 23 points, four rebounds and five assists to help the Aces secure a 94-83 victory.
Kelsey Mitchell, for her part, finished with 23 points to lead Indiana in scoring. Caitlin Clark also had an all-around effort with 18 points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals and four blocks.
Sure enough, the game was pretty controversial, especially since the Fever had better overall numbers aside from fouls and free throws. Las Vegas beat Indiana from the charity stripe, making 28 of 35 free throws compared to the Fever’s 14 makes out of 20 free throws.
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For sports commentator Skip Bayless, however, the real reason the Fever lost to the Aces was because Wilson and Gray were just better and had more experience in such tough situations.
“The truth was for the Fever, A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray were just too much, just wanted it more, just made too many veteran championship shots,” Bayless wrote on social media.
In another post about the Fever, Bayless expressed his belief that Clark lacked assertiveness in the second half. Unlike Wilson and Gray, who stepped up when the Aces needed them most, Clark struggled and couldn’t deliver.
Clark shot 2-of-8 from the field in the second half and scored just five points.
While Bayless acknowledged that Clark stepped up defensively in the same span, her offensive shortcomings ended up hurting the Fever more.
Now, the Fever enter the offseason with plenty of questions to answer about their future. Aside from their free agents, they clearly need to improve defensively if they want to become legitimate title contenders.
