Angel Reese was left to rue a costly miss after she passed up the chance to seal victory for the Atlanta Dream against the Indiana Fever, a moment that played straight into the hands of rival Caitlin Clark.
Clark and the Indiana Fever eventually held their nerve to claim a gripping 95-91 overtime win over the Dream on Saturday, adding another dramatic twist to the much-discussed rivalry involving the former No. 1 overall pick and Reese.
Yet before Indiana celebrated, the closing seconds of regulation offered Atlanta a golden opportunity to finish the game and avoid overtime altogether.
With the fourth quarter hanging in the balance, the Dream pushed the ball up the floor and Rhyne Howard pulled up for a three-point attempt as the tension inside the arena soared.
Howard’s shot was badly off target, falling well short of the rim, but the miss dropped into Reese’s hands and suddenly gave Atlanta one last chance at a stunning finish.
Reese appeared to have the decisive play at her fingertips, catching the ball near the basket with a clear look, but she could not convert the potential game-winning layup.
Angel Reese was left embarrassed after missing a potential game winner for the Atlanta Dream
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever secured a dramatic 95-91 victory in an overtime thriller
The Fever star’s gleeful reaction to Reese’s miss was caught on the ESPN broadcast
The three-time WNBA All-Star immediately attempted to correct her mistake but saw the ball snatched away by teammate Naz Tillmon, who also failed to find the net on the rebound with neither she nor Reese managing to clinch the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
With the score tied at 81-81, the missed attempt sent the clash to overtime with the Fever going on to clinch the dramatic win.
As a deflated Reese buried her face in her hands, Clark could be seen walking past behind her rival with a gleeful expression on her face.
Clark was caught on the ESPN broadcast with a beaming smile of her face before appearing to chuckle as she looked in the direction of Reese while heading to the Fever bench.
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Reese was ruthlessly mocked for the miss on social media with Barstool founder and Clark superfan Dave Portnoy leading the brutal taunting.
‘ANGEL REESE AT THE BUZZER FOR THE WI……,’ he wrote on X followed by a stream of skull emojis.
‘Angel Reese is a comedy show,’ controversial sports analyst Jason Whitlock posted.
‘She is the worst I’ve EVER seen under the rim! FFS,’ one fan claimed.
Clark was seen walking behind Reese with a smile on her face as she appeared to laugh
Clark sent a three-point attempt over the Dream star’s head and into the basket
Another social media user branded her a ‘choke artist,’ while a third said: ‘that’s the moment she finally realized how bad she sucks.’
Earlier in the game, Reese suffered another humbling moment when Clark, her biggest rival since their college days, sent a three-point attempt over the Dream star’s head and into the basket.
Reese finished the game with 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. In comparison, Clark scored 26 points, including two free throws after Atlanta trimmed Indiana’s lead to 93-91, with nine assists.
‘I was playing like s*** in the beginning, but it’s a game of runs,’ Reese told ESPN at halftime after starting 0-of-6 from the field.
‘You’ve got to put that in your back pocket just because you know you have teammates that have your back. [Allisha Gray], Madina [Okot], [Rhyne Howard] – they’re carrying us right now.’
Indiana (23-12) managed to hold off Atlanta (21-13) despite Allisha Gray matching her career high with 32 points. The top four teams have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Kelsey Mitchell’s layup with 13.6 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Indiana guard 20 points, her 19th consecutive game scoring at least 20.
Mitchell’s three-pointer for Indiana with 1:05 remaining tied the game 81-81. Atlanta had three misses on its final possession to end regulation.
