Chelsea Gray Beats the Buzzer Twice as Aces Erase 20-Point Deficit to Stun Fever 86-84

Chelsea Gray hit a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to force overtime and another at the overtime buzzer to win it, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 86-84 on Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Gray is the first player in WNBA history to make a game-tying buzzer-beater at the end of regulation and a game-winning buzzer-beater at the end of overtime in the same game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

A'ja Wilson finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 10-of-25 from the field and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Jackie Young scored 22 points and handed out 9 assists, including the passes that set up both of Gray's 3s. Young shot 8-of-21. NaLyssa Smith added 14 points and 9 rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting. Gray had 11 points, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 made 3-pointers in 40 minutes.

Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Aliyah Boston finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Caitlin Clark scored 20 points with 8 assists and 8 turnovers, and she went 7-of-20 from the field and 2-of-10 from 3-point range.

Indiana led 42-22 with 4 minutes left in the second quarter. Las Vegas closed the half on a 15-0 run while the Fever turned the ball over 3 times and missed their last 3 attempts. Young scored the final 13 points of the half.

Young's first basket of the second half made it 15 straight points for her, a franchise record and the most consecutive points scored by any player in the league this season. The previous Aces record was 9, held by Young and Dana Evans.

Las Vegas held Indiana to 2-of-12 from the field in the third quarter and to 9 points, tying the Fever's second-lowest quarter total of the season, previously set May 15. The Aces took the lead during an 11-2 run that Indiana went 0-of-6 through, and they led 56-51 after three quarters.

Indiana trailed 64-55 with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter before a 10-0 run put the Fever back in front. The lead moved back and forth from there. Indiana broke a 72-72 tie for a 74-72 edge with 30.4 seconds left, then went 1-of-4 at the free throw line in the closing seconds for a 75-72 lead with 7 seconds on the clock.

Wilson rebounded the last miss with 4.8 seconds remaining, and Las Vegas advanced the ball on a timeout. The inbound pass was deflected. Young chased it down and pushed it back to Gray, whose tying 3 went in at the horn.

Gray said what happened over the first 38 minutes did not change who Las Vegas was going to at the end.

"We had a play," Gray said. "It wasn't for me. It wasn't drawn up that way. Aliyah Boston deflected it. It was a pass to me, and it was gonna be a different shot. But Jackie, she kept playing, hit it back to me, and I looked up at the clock. I only had one second, one dribble pull. Knocked it down.

"And then overtime, first of all, A'ja had a great stop defensively. Like we always say, it's gonna come down to our defense, and she had a great stop defensively. Got it to me on the outlet. I knew Becky wasn't— like, we had an advantage. She wasn't gonna call a timeout, so I hit it to Jackie, make her go score the basketball, but she hunted me on the three-point line. Looked up at the clock again, knocked it down."

Wilson scored 8 points in overtime and Mitchell scored 7. Indiana led 84-83 with 38.2 seconds left. Wilson stripped Clark with 6.6 seconds to go, Las Vegas pushed the ball up the floor, and Young found Gray again. Both of Gray's shots survived replay review.

Gray has 2,565 points with the Aces and moved past Adrienne Goodson for No. 7 in franchise history. Her 3 makes from behind the arc put her past Shekinna Stricklen for No. 28 on the league's all-time list, at 470. Gray has handed out at least 4 assists in a league-high 19 consecutive games.

Aces coach Becky Hammon said Las Vegas switched into a coverage down the stretch that it had barely used all game.

"First of all, super proud of our defense," Hammon said. "I haven't been able to say that a lot. But super proud of our defense, on a night that we really struggled to shoot. I mean, there was a stretch there where we were just missing everything. And that's why your defense is so important, because it's gonna give you a chance to win the game at the end, and it really did. In an overtime game, to only give up 84 to that offense is just a really great job. So kudos to my ladies there.

"Coming back, winning the glass. We were behind on the glass. But I think there was one point from the end of the second quarter into the third quarter, I think we got 15 stops in a row. So that's what I'm talking about. And I've seen it. That's why I'm optimistic when we do play defense, because I know we can win any game when we're locked in defensively. And then obviously, Chelsea had some crazy heroics at the end there."

Las Vegas shot 35-of-86 from the field and 5-of-22 from 3-point range. Indiana shot 31-of-67 and 7-of-20. Both teams finished with their second-lowest 3-point total of the season. Indiana held a 32-27 edge in defensive rebounds. Las Vegas pulled 12 offensive rebounds to Indiana's 6 and finished with a 39-38 rebounding advantage.

The Fever turned the ball over 22 times, and Las Vegas scored 18 points off those possessions. Indiana scored 22 points off 16 Las Vegas turnovers. Las Vegas scored 42 points in the paint to Indiana's 38.

Hammon said Wilson stayed in front of Clark on the last possession of overtime and got a hand on the ball for the steal.

"I mean, you're never not going with A'ja Wilson," Hammon explained. "Like, I don't care if she's missed all game — she's gonna make free throws, she's gonna make big plays down the stretch. Winning plays, defensive plays, offensive plays. I actually thought she got into some nice spots late game. We were just running some pick-and-roll with some cleared-side action, and she was able to get to her middy.

"You know, we know she'll have nights where she doesn't miss those. We could start maybe seeing a little bit of fatigue. I mean, our defense is exerting a lot more energy. We're down a post player right now, so the rotations are tough."

Wilson has 2,199 defensive rebounds and passed Rebekkah Brunson and Alyssa Thomas for No. 10 in league history. Thursday was her 16th double-double this season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, and her 11th with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds. She has scored in double figures in a league-leading 54 consecutive games. Her run of 12 straight 20-point games is the second-longest in the league.

Jewell Loyd made 4 field goals and now has 2,086 for her career, moving past DeLisha Milton-Jones for No. 18 on the league's all-time list.

Clark said Indiana went flat after a timeout with about three minutes left in the second quarter, and that the turnovers that followed turned into transition baskets for Las Vegas.

"Yeah. Obviously just can't happen, and those are free throws I usually make, and certainly frustrating," Clark said. "Obviously one of them gives us a two-possession lead, and kind of cost my team there for sure, so that's on me."

Mitchell has scored at least 20 points in 15 consecutive games, tying Wilson's league record for a single season. Wilson holds the overall record at 20 in a row across two seasons. Mitchell has also reached double figures in 46 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the league.

Boston recorded her 49th career double-double and her eighth of the season. She made 3 3-pointers in the first half, matching her career high. Thursday was the eighth game in which Boston, Clark, and Mitchell each scored at least 20 points.

Makayla Timpson pulled 11 rebounds for a career high. Her previous high was 9, set July 12 against Seattle. Sophie Cunningham played 28 minutes and scored 2 points.

The Aces have come back from a deficit of at least 20 points three times in franchise history. It happened Aug. 20, 1999, when the Starzz erased a 22-point deficit to beat Phoenix 70-62, and again Aug. 15, 2021, when Las Vegas came back from 21 down to beat Washington 84-83.

Indiana's biggest lead was 20 points and Las Vegas led by as many as 9. There were 12 lead changes, 5 of them in overtime, and 7 ties. Las Vegas is 2-0 in overtime games this season. Indiana won the season series 2-1. The announced attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was a sellout of 17,274.

Las Vegas played without Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who is in concussion protocol. Indiana was without Damiris Dantas, who is out with a left knee injury.

The Aces close a five-game road trip with a back-to-back, at Minnesota on Saturday and at New York on Sunday. Indiana plays at Chicago on Saturday.