Caitlin Clark on Pacers’ success: ‘It’s great being in Indianapolis right now’
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Caitlin Clark says it’s a great time to be a basketball fan in Indiana. It’s enough to turn Clark, one of the state’s biggest stars, into a fan during the NBA playoffs.
Clark said before the Indiana Fever’s WNBA game at the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night that she was so caught up in the Pacers‘ come-from-behind 138-135 overtime win at the New York Knicks on Wednesday night that she took video of her reaction to the signature play — Tyrese Haliburton’s jumper that sent Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals into overtime.
For now, Clark says she’s keeping the video under wraps, even though she offered a tease.
“I have a video on my phone I’m never going to show anybody,” Clark said. “I actually showed a few people. I videotaped myself like the final play and I have my reaction in real time. It’s a pretty iconic video. Maybe one day everybody will see it, but no, not right now.”
Clark did share one reaction, calling Indiana “the greatest comeback team” on social media after its latest rally. The Pacers now have four 17+ point comeback wins in this year’s playoffs alone.
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Clark said she regretted not getting video of herself when Haliburton made the game-winning layup in the Pacers’ decisive 119-118 win over Milwaukee that sent Indiana to the East final. With her favorite NBA team in another close game, she seized the opportunity.
“I was in my hotel room,” Clark said. “It’s a good thing I had taken a nap earlier in the day so I could be able to stay up for overtime.”
Clark’s boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, just completed his first season as an assistant coach at Butler following a year working for the Pacers in basketball development. The two are following the Pacers’ postseason closely.
“I mean, that team, they never give up,” Clark said. “They find a way to defy the odds. You go back and look at the ESPN probability tracker and it was like 99.7% for the Knicks last night and that’s just crazy.”
Clark was a breakout WNBA star as a rookie last season and is helping to fuel the league’s soaring popularity. The Dream moved Thursday night’s game to State Farm Arena, home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, and said shortly before tip-off that the 16,888-seat venue was sold out. The Dream’s normal home, Gateway Center Arena, holds only 3,500.
“It’s great being in Indianapolis right now,” Clark said. “People are loving basketball. It’s always been a basketball state. It’s just fun to be a part of.”
It’s a big overall sports weekend for Indianapolis, too. On Sunday, the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (coverage begins at 10 a.m. ET on FOX and streaming on the FOX Sports app). Later that day, the Pacers will host the Knicks in Game 3 of their series, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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