Four points, one overtime, and a seeding race
The Indiana Fever beat the Atlanta Dream 95 to 91 in overtime at State Farm Arena on Sunday, August 16, 2026. Angel Reese finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, her 23rd double-double of the season, on a night when almost nothing she threw at the rim went in. She shot 5-of-16, turned it over four times, picked up five fouls and did not score in the fourth quarter.
That combination is the whole story of Reese’s 2026 in one box score. The shooting has been uneven. The rebounding has been relentless. And the results keep landing within a possession of going the other way.
The last ten seconds of regulation
Tied at 81-81 with under ten seconds left, Atlanta got three cracks at winning it. Rhyne Howard put up an airball. Reese grabbed the putback and watched it roll off the rim. Naz Hillmon went up for the next one and missed too. Three consecutive attempts at a game winner, none of them fell, and the game went to overtime.
Allisha Gray did not relitigate it afterward. “She knows she’ll make the shot,” Gray said of Reese. “In that moment, you’ve just got to encourage your teammates.”
Reese’s night, start to finish
Reese opened 0-of-6. She had 7 points on 3-of-10 shooting at the half, with 9 rebounds already banked, which tells you exactly how she stayed useful while the shot was gone. The Dream closed the first half on a 17-4 run and took a four point lead into the break.
Reese talked to ESPN’s Holly Rowe at halftime and opened with a profanity about how badly she had been shooting, before adding, “but it’s a game of runs.” Asked what changed, she said she was “taking my time. Woosah. And just trusting my work.”
Some fans called for a fine. To be clear about where this actually stands: no fine has been announced and the WNBA has taken no disciplinary action.
Fox Sports reported that Reese has shot 35.9 percent over her last six games while pulling down 14 or more rebounds in three straight. That is a single outlet’s framing.
The Caitlin Clark clip
As the three misses piled up, cameras caught Clark grinning and waving behind Reese, and the clip moved fast online. Whether it was aimed at Reese or simply a player reacting to her own team surviving a scramble is interpretation, not fact. Outlets have described it both ways. Nobody involved has explained it.
Clark’s own account of the closing seconds was less cinematic. “Just chuck it down the court,” she said of the plan. “Somebody’s gotta go get it or the clock’s gonna run out.” If you want a rivalry where the participants actually narrate their own scheming, our Big Brother 28 Diamond Veto overnight spoilers will serve you better.
The people who actually decided the game
Gray led all scorers with 32 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. For Indiana, Clark put up 26 points and 9 assists on 20 shots with 5 turnovers, and Aliyah Boston filled the whole sheet with 18 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks.
Makayla Timpson was the swing piece: 20 points on 9-of-13 in a career high 33 minutes. “My teammates believe in me, my coaches believe in me so much that I don’t got a choice but to believe in myself,” she said. Kelsey Mitchell also scored 20, her 19th straight game with at least 20 points, which is a WNBA record.
What it does to the No. 4 seed
Indiana is 23-12. Atlanta is 21-13. The Fever now lead by a game and a half for the No. 4 seed, and the season series is even at 2-2, which makes Sunday’s four point margin matter in any tiebreaker.
CBS Sports put Indiana’s probability of finishing in the top four at 63 percent, which would be the franchise’s first since 2016. That projection comes from one outlet, so weigh it accordingly.
The record she already broke and the one she is chasing
Reese leads the WNBA in rebounding. She is averaging roughly 15.6 points, about 12 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals, shooting near 42 percent from the field and 73 percent from the line.
On August 10 she posted 20 points on 7-of-14 and 14 rebounds in a 107 to 95 win over the Toronto Tempo, her 22nd double-double and a new Atlanta Dream single-season franchise record. The team’s PR account confirmed it, and the Dream’s social accounts went with “She IS the Double-Diva.” Three days later she had 8 points on 3-of-13 with 15 rebounds, 3 steals and a season high 4 blocks in a 104 to 69 win over Connecticut. Sunday made 23. The WNBA single-season record is 28, set by Alyssa Thomas with Connecticut in 2023. Five more ties it. Six breaks it.
Berlin is next
Reese was named on August 6 to the 12-player USA Basketball roster for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, September 4 to 13, one of seven players making their World Cup debut. She is 24, in her third WNBA season, a three-time All-Star, and now with Atlanta after Chicago took her seventh overall in 2024.
The roster is stacked and slightly awkward: Clark, Boston and Howard are on it too, along with A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper and Jackie Young. Group play opens against China on September 4, then Italy on September 6 and Czechia on September 7.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the final score of Fever vs Dream on August 16, 2026?
Indiana won 95 to 91 in overtime at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Regulation ended tied at 81-81. Some early headlines got the winner backwards, but the Fever won it.
How many points did Angel Reese score against Indiana?
She had 15 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists on 5-of-16 shooting, with four turnovers and five fouls. She was scoreless in the fourth quarter. It still counted as her 23rd double-double of the season.
What happened on the final possession of regulation?
With the game tied and under ten seconds left, Rhyne Howard missed an airball, Reese’s putback rolled off the rim, and Naz Hillmon missed the next one. Three straight misses sent the game to overtime.
Was Angel Reese fined for what she said at halftime?
No. She used a profanity in an on-court ESPN interview with Holly Rowe, and some fans called for a fine. No fine has been announced and the WNBA has taken no action.
What is the WNBA single-season double-double record?
Alyssa Thomas holds it with 28, set with Connecticut in 2023. Reese is at 23 after Sunday. She already owns the Atlanta Dream franchise record, which she set at 22 on August 10.
Is Angel Reese playing in the FIBA World Cup?
Yes. She was named to the 12-player USA roster on August 6 for the tournament in Berlin, September 4 to 13, 2026. It is her first World Cup, and the United States opens against China on September 4.
