Aces turbulence continues with embarrassing loss to Indiana Fever without Caitlin Clark

The Las Vegas Aces’ turbulent season continued with a demoralizing 81-54 loss to the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever on Thursday, ending Vegas’ 16-game winning streak against the now upstart franchise. 

A’ja Wilson scored a typical 29 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but the effort the three-time MVP earned from her supposedly vaunted teammates was downright horrific. Aside from Wilson, the Aces’ scored just 25 points and their next highest scorer was Jackie Young with a grand total of six points on 2-of-9 shooting. 

As popular hoops guru Nekias Duncan pointed out on X, the Aces’ six double-digit losses this season put their total just one shy of the seven such losses the team suffered last season. Considering 2024 was thought to be a one-off down year, it’s safe to say the panic button in Henderson is blinking red. If it hasn’t already been pushed yet. 

With Clark missing her fourth consecutive game–and ninth this season with a groin injury, the Fever were carried by her All-Star cohorts Aaliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell led Indiana with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting (4-of-6 from 3-point range), while Boston tallied 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Commissioner’s Cup MVP Natasha Howard was the only other player in double digits for the Fever, finishing with 11 points while making 4-of-8 attempts from the field and grabbing 10 rebounds. 

The Fever made 9-of-11 attempts from the field in a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Aces 25-10 in the frame to build upon what was already a stable lead after the first quarter. Indiana finished 31-of-63 (49.2 percent) from the field in total, making 5-of-16 attempts (31.3 percent) from beyond the arc. 

The Aces had no such luck. Vegas shot an abysmal 16-of-61 from the field (26.2 percent), including just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Fever outrebounded the Aces 37-26 and forced 19 turnovers while allowing just 14.