Chelsea Gray Buzzer Beater Sinks Fever: Aces Win 86-84 in OT

Chelsea Gray hit a buzzer-beating three to tie it at 75 and force overtime, then hit another buzzer-beating three to win it, and the Las Vegas Aces walked out of Indianapolis with an 86-84 victory Thursday night. Per ESPN, 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.

Indiana had won the first two meetings and needed this one for a season sweep of the defending champions. Instead the Fever coughed up a 20-point first-half lead and lost a game they led in the closing seconds of regulation and of overtime.

The Chelsea Gray Buzzer Beater, Twice

Gray finished with just 11 points on three made threes. Two of them decided the game. The first tied it at 75 at the regulation horn after Caitlin Clark missed two free throws with seven seconds left and the Aces came up with the loose ball. The second, after A'ja Wilson forced a Clark turnover on the other end, dropped as time expired in overtime with Las Vegas trailing by one.

Both shots came out of broken possessions, which is the part worth remembering. The Aces did not run a set and get a clean look. They got the ball to their most experienced closer and let her take a contested three from her spot.

The Numbers

Wilson carried the box score with 26 points and 13 rebounds, plus the stop on Clark that set up the winner. Jackie Young added 22, including a franchise-record 15 straight Las Vegas points to close the first half and open the second, which is how a 20-point deficit turns into a one-possession game before anybody notices.

Indiana was not short on production. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 28, Aliyah Boston added 21 and 12, and Clark finished with 20 points and eight assists. The problem was the shape of Clark's night: 7 of 20 from the field, 2 of 10 from three, and eight turnovers. The two costliest plays bookended the finish, two missed free throws with seven seconds left in regulation and Indiana up three, then a lost ball with seven seconds left in overtime.

Las Vegas trailed by three in the closing seconds of regulation and by one in the closing seconds of overtime and won anyway. Comebacks like that do not usually survive contact with a box score this lopsided in Indiana's favor.

Betting and DFS Impact

Two things blew up. The side landed on Las Vegas, which had been priced roughly as a pick'em against a Fever team that had beaten them twice, and the total landed nowhere near the pregame number: 170 combined points in a game that needed an extra five minutes, against a total that sat in the low 190s across the market before tip, with FanDuel posted at 192.5 per Covers' Aug. 6 odds board. An under that cashes by more than 20 points with overtime attached is a defensive-effort signal, not variance.

Prop-wise, the lesson is the same one this matchup keeps teaching. Clark got to 20 points on 20 shots while her efficiency cratered, so assists and turnover-adjacent markets carried more information than her scoring line. Wilson remains the cleanest anchor on the slate: 26 and 13 in a game where nothing else worked cleanly. Gray, at 11 points, would have busted most scoring props while deciding the game, which is the standing argument against pricing a veteran closer purely on volume.

The DFS note is Young. Las Vegas has a second scorer capable of taking over a half, and her salary rarely reflects it.

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What This Does to the Season Series

Indiana still took the season series two games to one, and both of its wins were comfortable, which matters for tiebreakers and for the read that the Fever match up well with the champions. What Thursday changed is the read on the Aces: a team that had lost this matchup twice found a way to win it while playing badly for a half.

For Indiana, the concern is narrower than the result. Clark's shooting line and the eight turnovers, in a game the Fever controlled for 20 minutes, is the kind of performance that shows up again in a playoff series if the ball-handling does not tighten.

What to Watch Next

Three things. First, Clark's next three-point volume, since 2 of 10 in a nationally televised loss usually triggers either a shot-selection adjustment or a defiant response. Second, whether Las Vegas's fourth-quarter defense holds, because the stop on Clark was better than anything the Aces did in the first half. Third, playoff seeding, where a two-to-one season series in Indiana's favor could decide home court in a rematch.

For the pregame breakdown of this matchup, see our Aces vs Fever prediction, and for where Wilson sits in the individual race, our 2026 WNBA MVP report. Full recap and box score are at ESPN.

FAQ

What did Chelsea Gray do against the Fever? Gray hit a three at the regulation buzzer to force overtime and another at the overtime buzzer to win it 86-84. Per ESPN she is the first WNBA player to do both in the same game.

What was the final score of Aces vs Fever on Aug. 6, 2026? Las Vegas won 86-84 in overtime in Indianapolis after trailing by 20 in the first half.

How did Caitlin Clark play against the Aces? Clark had 20 points and eight assists but shot 7 of 20 from the field and 2 of 10 from three with eight turnovers, and she missed two free throws with seven seconds left in regulation before losing the ball late in overtime.

Did the Fever win the 2026 season series against the Aces? Yes. Indiana won the first two meetings and took the three-game season series two games to one despite Thursday's overtime loss.

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