INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chelsea Gray scored 21 points, A’ja Wilson added 15 points and 17 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces held on to beat the Indiana Fever 78-74 on Friday night to spoil another record-breaking day for Caitlin Clark.
Clark, who scored all of her 18 points in the second half, finished with eight rebounds and nine assists for Indiana (19-19). The rookie set the WNBA’s single-season record for assists with 320, breaking the mark of 316 set last season by Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun.
Gray made 7 of 11 from the field and had six assists for Las Vegas (24-13). Kelsey Plum added 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and Jackie Young scored 12 points.
Clark scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Fever trimmed a 13-point deficit to 60-57 going into the fourth and Damiris Dantas tied it when she hit a deep 3-pointer with 9:41 to go. Gray answered with a layup about a minute later and Plum hit a 3 to give Las Vegas a 65-60 lead with 7:33 to go.
The Fever went 0 for 8 from the field, made 4 of 8 from the free-throw line and committed three turnovers from there until Clark was fouled to put the Fever into the bonus with at the 2:57 mark. Clark hit two foul shots to cut the Aces’ lead to 69-66.
Clark blew past a defender for a layup that pulled Indiana within two with 1:48 remaining, but Plum answered with a 3 with 56 seconds left to make it 75-70 and the Aces held on from there.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 20 points, 19 in the first half. Aliyah Boston scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Dantas added 11 points.
Clark was scoreless on 0 for 5 shooting in the first half and picked up her third foul when she was called for a charge late in the second quarter as the Aces took a 43-35 lead into the break.
The Aces, who also beat the Fever 86-75 Wednesday, swept the four-game regular-season series between the teams.
