Angel Reese has opened up on her ‘tough night’ after missing a crucial layup against the Indiana Fever on Sunday.
Reese and the Atlanta Dream suffered an agonizing 95–91 defeat to the Fever in an overtime thriller at the weekend, marking the latest chapter in the forward’s bitter rivalry with Caitlin Clark.
However, Reese had the chance to clinch a win for the Dream in the dying seconds of regular time with her eventual miss proving extremely costly.
‘Yeah, I knew how much my team needed me. Like I said last game, it was very tough for me. I didn’t sleep, and the competitor in me wanted to win that game so bad,’ Reese said following the Dream’s redeeming 97–82 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night.
‘I replayed that play so many times, but I’m like: Why would I let one moment dictate everything else that I have going on that is positive?
‘So just being able to show up again for my team. It would have been negative for me not to come out tonight and just bounce back, and I knew they expected it from me – so just being able to do it obviously against [A’ja Wilson], trying to deflect as many passes as I can. I mean, she’s going to get her shots up, of course. But just knowing my spots and how great I am defensively to put pressure on her.’
Angel Reese has opened up on her ‘tough night’ after missing a crucial layup against the Fever
Caitlin Clark’s gleeful reaction to Reese’s miss was caught on the ESPN broadcast
Reese registered 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals as she impressively defended reigning MVP A’ja Wilson in a bounceback performance on Tuesday following Sunday’s disappointment.
The three-time WNBA All-Star had missed a game-winning shot with three seconds left in regulation against the Fever.
With the game going down to the wire in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, the Dream drove down the court with Rhyne Howard going for the three-point attempt.
But Howard missed the shot horrifically with her attempt coming up far short of the basket, landing in the hands of Reese.
Despite snatching an apparent lifeline for the Dream, Reese, with a clean look around the rim, missed the game-winning layup.
She 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.
Reese was left red-faced after she missed the game winner for the Atlanta Dream
Clark and the Indiana Fever sealed a dramatic 95-91 victory in an overtime thriller
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.
Reese was also 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.
Another social media user branded her a ‘choke artist,’ while a third said: ‘that’s the moment she finally realized how bad she sucks.’
