Fever Beat Dream 95-91 in Overtime as Clark-Reese Rivalry Adds Another Chapter

Indiana has won four straight games and 11 of its last 14, and Sunday night's overtime win over Atlanta was the latest and loudest chapter in the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese saga.

The Fever beat the Dream 95-91 in overtime on August 16 at State Farm Arena, according to Fox News and CBS Sports. Clark finished with 26 points and nine assists. Indiana trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half and by eight entering the fourth quarter, 72-64, after Atlanta scored 28 points in the third, per Fox News. Indiana's defense flipped the game, holding the Dream to nine points in the fourth quarter, their lowest of the season, and forcing overtime.

The Missed Layup Heard Round Social Media

With the score tied 81-81 and under six seconds left in regulation, Atlanta had three cracks at a win. Rhyne Howard missed a three-pointer, Angel Reese grabbed the rebound with a clean look at the rim and missed the put-back, and teammate Naz Hillmon missed a follow-up attempt as time expired, according to CBS Sports and the Daily Mail. Reese finished 5-for-16 shooting, including an 0-for-6 start, with 15 points and 14 rebounds, per Yahoo Sports.

Cameras caught Clark walking behind a visibly frustrated Reese with a smile, appearing to laugh, as the teams headed to overtime huddles. The clip spread fast. Dave Portnoy posted a string of skull emojis on X, and commentator Jason Whitlock called Reese "a comedy show," according to the Daily Mail. Clark addressed it directly afterward: "You have to make the layup, right? I'm not gonna lie, I was laughing. She gave us another chance, and we took it," she told reporters, per Breitbart.

The Mirror offered a more cautious read, noting there was "no clear way to tell if Clark was looking at Reese or reacting to someone beyond the ESPN camera's view." Camera angles on live broadcasts often can't prove exactly what a player is looking at, and Clark's own quote doesn't specify whether she was laughing at Reese personally or at the wild sequence of two straight misses. Either way, Clark didn't walk it back when asked.

A Physical Sequence Fans Also Flagged

Sunday's game had another contested moment beyond the buzzer-beater miss. Early in the first quarter, with about 4:10 left, Reese and Clark tangled for rebounding position in the paint, and Reese appeared to shove Clark away without a foul call, according to Yahoo Sports. Clark looked to the officials; no whistle came. A clip of the exchange from a fan account on X drew more than 344,000 views, and Yahoo Sports reported fans were split, with some calling it a routine box-out and others saying it "went beyond basketball."

No foul was called, no formal review or league statement has been reported, and the sources don't indicate the WNBA has taken any disciplinary action over the sequence.

Overtime and the Finish

Reese opened overtime with a bucket, but Indiana answered with an 8-0 run. Kelsey Mitchell's layup with 13.6 seconds left put the Fever up 93-88 and extended her streak to 19 straight 20-point games, according to Fox News and the New York Post. A foul call on Clark with 10 seconds left sent Howard to the line for three free throws. Indiana challenged, and ESPN's broadcast crew expected it to get overturned, but officials upheld the call, per Fox News. Howard made all three, cutting the lead to 93-91. Atlanta then fouled Clark, who made both free throws. On the Dream's final possession, they missed, and Clark grabbed the rebound and heaved the ball downcourt to run out the clock rather than risk another foul. "I've had that in the bag for a while," Clark said, according to CBS Sports. "Just chuck it down the court. Somebody's gotta go get it or the clock's gonna run out."

What It Means for the Standings

The win moved Indiana to 23-12, one and a half games ahead of Atlanta, and evened the season series at 2-2, according to CBS Sports. With nine games left, CBS Sports pegged the Fever's odds of securing a top-four playoff seed at 63%, which would give them home-court advantage in the first round for the first time since the WNBA scrapped conference-based seeding in 2016. Allisha Gray matched her career high with 32 points for Atlanta in the loss, per Yahoo Sports and the Daily Mail.

The season series tiebreaker will now come down to the finale of a stat most fans never track: record against .500-or-better teams. Indiana entered the day at 10-10 in those games; Atlanta at 10-11. That number, not another highlight clip, may decide who gets the tiebreaker if the two teams finish level.