Caitlin Clark sets assist record, but Fever fall to Aces

 

[September 14, 2024]  Chelsea Gray scored a game-high 21 points, helping lead the Las Vegas Aces to a 78-74 win over Indiana on Friday in Indianapolis, spoiling a milestone night for Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.

Kelsey Plum added 18 points, while A'ja Wilson tallied 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds as the Aces (24-13) earned their sixth win in seven tries. Jackie Young added 12 points for the Aces.

Clark broke the WNBA's single-season assist record in the second quarter. She logged nine assists on the night, raising her total to 321, passing the mark of 316 set by the Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas last year.

The record moment came with 2:37 left in the first half when Kelsey Mitchell took a pass from Clark and sank a 3-pointer.

Mitchell led Indiana (19-19) with 20 points, and Clark scored 18. Aliyah Boston netted 14 and Damiris Dantas scored 11 off the bench for the Fever, who have dropped two straight. Las Vegas also completed a four-game season sweep of Indiana.

With the Aces leading by eight at halftime, Young's mid-range jumper followed by Gray's 3-pointer extended the Las Vegas lead to 48-35, forcing an Indiana timeout at the 8:52 mark of the third.

Indiana answered with a 6-0 spurt, as Boston knocked down a pair of jumpers before Clark's layup cut the Fever's deficit to 48-41 with 7:40 left.

Later in the quarter, Clark's 3-pointer was equalized with Gray's triple, but Clark then accounted for six of the game's next eight points, cutting Las Vegas' lead to 56-52 and forcing an Aces timeout with 2:09 left in the third.

Tiffany Hayes' layup stopped the bleeding out of the timeout, but Clark's heat-check continued with another 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining.

Las Vegas led 60-57 entering the final quarter after Gray knocked down a pull-up jumper with 5 seconds to go.

Dantas opened the fourth with a game-tying 3-pointer, before Indiana was held scoreless until the 5:43 mark, when Mitchell's free throw trimmed the Fever's deficit to 65-61.

Indiana fell behind 72-68 with 2:05 left, but Clark cut the deficit in half with a layup at the 1:48 mark. After Clark missed a go-ahead 3, Plum knocked down a triple to put the Aces up 75-70 with 56 seconds left.

Dantas hit a mid-range jumper with 42.2 seconds to go, but Gray's two free throws iced the game.

In the first quarter, Mitchell's jumper gave Indiana an 11-10 lead, but Wilson's mid-range jumper followed by Plum's triple started a 9-0 Las Vegas run, guiding the Aces to a 19-13 lead entering the second quarter.

With the Aces holding a 38-32 lead at the 1:00 mark, Alysha Clark and Mitchell traded 3-pointers, before Wilson's hook shot with 13.1 seconds left gave Las Vegas a 43-35 lead at the half.

--Field Level Media

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