Aces secure overtime victory after courtside incident at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Las Vegas guard Jackie Young addresses verbal exchange with courtside fan as Indiana Fever confirm no conduct violations
The Las Vegas Aces secured a narrow 86-84 overtime victory against the Indiana Fever on Thursday, but the contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis was marked by a third-quarter stoppage involving arena security and a courtside spectator. The incident occurred with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter, prompting a several-minute halt to play before the game resumed and eventually went to overtime.
Las Vegas guard Jackie Young initiated the sequence by motioning toward fans seated directly across from the Aces bench and speaking to a referee. Young later described the situation to reporters, stating that a fan had been "chirping all game" before making a comment she characterised as "a little bit too far." She declined to elaborate on the specific nature of the remark, telling the press, "I think we'll just keep it in here."
Arena security intervened by escorting a female fan, who was seated in the front row, out through a tunnel. Following this removal, the fan was assisted back to her seat. Shortly thereafter, security also escorted two men who were seated near her from their courtside positions. Young noted that the security team "did the right thing," adding, "Obviously, we don't want to see fans get kicked out, but at the end of the day, we're human too."
The Indiana Fever issued a statement following the incident, confirming that security had spoken with the fan and witnesses after receiving a report of a comment directed toward a player. The organisation stated that security determined no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct had occurred. The Fever clarified that the fan was not removed from the arena but elected to leave voluntarily, and the organisation considered the matter closed.
The game concluded in overtime, with Chelsea Gray scoring the winning buzzer-beating three-pointer to secure the win for Las Vegas. Young emphasised the need for fans to "show up to games, have fun and not take it too far" following the event. The Associated AP contributed to the reporting of this incident.
