Nothing raises the intensity quite like a win-or-go-home matchup, and Thursday’s slate of the 2025 WNBA playoffs brought us two of them, both packed with drama. The night opened with a postseason shocker for many, as the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever stunned the third-seeded Atlanta Dream 87-85 in enemy territory. As for the other matchup? It didn’t lack fireworks either. Only this time, the drama came with an entirely different twist.

The Aces and Storm battled wire to wire, with Seattle pushing the top seed to the brink. A’ja Wilson carried Las Vegas on her back with 38 points, but it still came down to the final seconds. Jackie Young’s clutch putback gave the Aces the edge, Wheeler’s jumper missed, and then came the moment no scriptwriter could invent. Gabby Williams tried to launch one last shot just as the arena went dark. The lights cut out, and so did Seattle’s season.

The ball was still sailing through the air when Michelob Ultra Arena was suddenly swallowed by darkness. For a moment, nobody knew if it was a glitch or a celebration gone wrong. Fans gasped, players paused celebrations to look around, and it almost felt as if the lights were declaring the Aces champions a split-second too early.

The spotlight remained on Gabby Williams’ 15-foot mid-range shot!

As the score stayed neck-and-neck, spectators glued their eyes to the court when Williams took the shot. We’ve already seen her attempt such looks in crucial moments at the 2024 Paris Olympics finals with the French team. So, the angle, the posture, everything promised a buzzer-beater. But before she could make one, time was over. Still, people wanted to look at the shot: how it went, whether it counted or not. Curiosity was already high. But the Aces’ arena stole the moment by dimming the lights, and that didn’t sit well with the social media community.

“The Las Vegas Aces light controller after the Gabby Williams shot,” penned a spectator with a perfect GIF. It was of Shrek, casually pinching out the flames on a stick with his fingers, like it’s no burn, no flinch, just pure ogre toughness. But we understand the frustration for those who wanted to see the shot go in.

The review, however, quickly settled the confusion. Gabby Williams never released the ball before the buzzer. Slow-motion footage showed it still in her hands as the clock struck zero, and even if she had managed to let it fly, the attempt was nowhere near the rim. Even the announcers said aloud that the clock had already expired.

“That’s illegal. It’s taking advantage of Seattle Storm. Can’t even see the shot,” penned another user. Well, as said, the review made things clearer. Still and all, for the Aces, it probably reminded them of Game 2. Down three points with three seconds left, Becky Hammon had drawn up a play for Loyd to take the final shot. But her game-tying attempt fell just short, and right then the Storm started celebrating their 86-83 win.

In Game 3, something similar happened, only the positions were reversed. It all came down to the last try that failed. However, the cameo by the arena’s lighting surely stole the Aces’ chance at an uninterrupted celebration.

“It definitely should not be legal not to mention dangerous,” penned another user. Well, we have seen multiple delays happen across WNBA and NBA because of lights going out. In 2015, during a Mystics vs Liberty game, the lights went out at Verizon Center with about 2 minutes left in regulation. The scoreboard died and TVs in the club level flickered. The delay lasted around 15 minutes. However, nothing dangerous happened back then. Only that it turned into a dance part of sorts for the Mystics crowd as the music never stopped.

Still, just because it hasn’t been dangerous yet, doesn’t mean that it can’t be – especially when such high-stakes moments are going on. This spectator on X put it better, saying, “Regardless, someone could have seriously gotten hurt. But the masses will see no issue. But if this happened somewhere in the Midwest, all hell would break loose.”

But the frustration wasn’t just about the Aces’ move. Fans were unhappy with the play Diggins, Malonga, and Gray made before Gabby’s shot. “Skylar Diggins had Malonga wide open on the roll to the basket 1v1 vs Chelsea Gray in help defense, she’s just blind.” penned another user. So here’s what happened: Diggins and Malonga set up the high pick-and-roll, but the timing was just a beat off. Without the quick pocket pass, the defense closed the window in a flash. The paint was clogged. Diggins had no choice but to swing it back out to the arc. And it was a miss.

So yes, this is how everything unfolded today. But believe it or not, the Aces won—and now they’re into the semifinals to face underdogs Indy.