The Indiana Fever looked on their way to a win on Thursday night, but after an 86-84 loss for the Fever, two prominent sports personalities placed the blame on Caitlin Clark. After a dominant first half, the Fever saw a collapse, eventually leading to the overtime loss. If there’s someone to blame for this collapse, according to Skip Bayless and former NFL star Emmanuel Acho, it’s Caitlin Clark.

The Fever overwhelmed the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, by putting together a dominant 22-4 run, building a 20-point lead in the second quarter. But as the game progressed, the Aces chipped away at that lead with every possession, forcing the matchup into overtime, eventually walking away with the win. Bayless was blunt with his assessment of the situation, as he wrote on X.

“This awful home loss is on Caitlin. Missed both clinching free throws late in reg, then terrible turnover late in OT. Chelsea Gray made her pay both times with stunning clutch 3s – to tie at the buzzer then win it at the buzzer. Congrats to Chelsea/Aces, who were down 20.”

The first play Bayless referred to came in the closing seconds of regulation. Indiana held a 75-72 lead with just seven seconds remaining when Chelsea Gray committed a foul. That sent Caitlin Clark to the free-throw line, where she could have secured the game by making just one shot.

But the 24-year-old missed both of her attempts as Las Vegas secured the rebound and immediately called a timeout. Once the game resumed, Gray then buried a 26-foot buzzer-beating 3-pointer to tie the game at 75-75.

Yet even then, the Fever battled back to reclaim an 84-83 lead in the OT. So with just 22 seconds remaining, all Caitlin Clark had to do was hold the ball. Instead, she drove inside against A’ja Wilson and committed a turnover with just eight seconds left. And that was all they needed.

The Aces immediately pushed the ball up the floor before Jackie Young found Chelsea Gray, who knocked down another 26-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to complete the comeback and hand Las Vegas their 22nd win of the season.

For former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker turned sports analyst, Emmanuel Acho, however, Clark’s missed shots or the turnovers weren’t the biggest issue. It was her lack of effort.

“The issue isn’t with this turnover by Caitlin Clark (though she had 8). The issue is she didn’t get her butt off the ground and SPRINT to get back in the play! Clark could’ve blocked Gray’s shot from behind or made her put the ball on the deck. She didn’t even get back in frame,” Acho shared on X.

Still, despite the heartbreaking finish, it wasn’t an entirely poor performance from Clark. She finished the night with 20 points and eight assists. But her foul trouble and turnover issues – two problems that have followed her throughout the season – once again proved costly. Caitlin Clark opened up about the free-throw issue during the post-game interview.

“Obviously just can’t happen. And those are free throws I usually make and certainly frustrating. Obviously one of them gives us a two-possession lead and kind of cost my team there for sure. So that’s on me.”

This defeat now marks Indiana’s second straight loss, and with the playoffs just 13 games away, their margin for error is shrinking fast.