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It had everything anybody could ask for in terms of what constitutes a great game: a tight-knit, suspense-filled contest with both sides in a frantic foot race to the finish.

Before a sold-out crowd and a nationally-televised audience on Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Sky came back from a 15-point deficit to eke out a victory over the Indiana Fever, 88-87. It was Chicago’s first victory over Indiana in three tries.

The stars were aligned as the Sky’s triple threat of Angel Reese, Kamila Cardoso and Chennedy Carter took on another formidable force in the combination of Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and Caitlin Clark. The stars were also in attendance with Chance the Rapper, Lil Durk, Jason Sudekis, Jalen Brunson and Sheryl Swoopes looking on. And with many watching not only to see the end result but also to engage in over-exaggerated reactions to every possession or foul call, it turned out that basketball dunked all over any bonkers narratives.

It was a constant back-and-forth battle, with both sides taking turns in swinging the momentum. The Fever were on their path to victory, leading by 15 points with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Just when all hope seemed lost for Chicago, they managed to go on a remarkable 17-7 run to tie the game at 82 with 3:12 remaining in the final period. After a few sequences, the Sky claimed the lead at 86-84 thanks to a Reese and-1 with 53 seconds left to play.

After a pair of split free throws from Cardoso and Carter, the Sky led 88-84 with 27 seconds left before Boston hit a huge 3-pointer to bring the Fever within a point. Finally with 0.2 seconds left, Clark inbounded the ball to NaLyssa Smith in an attempt to beat the horn, but it was to no avail as the Sky held on for the win.

Reese came away with her eighth-consecutive double-double, finishing with 25 points and 16 rebounds. She also became the first rookie since A’ja Wilson in 2018 to notch multiple games of 25-plus points and 15-plus rebounds.

Cardoso was right there with her as she notched a double-double of her own with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Their ability to complement each other’s game, despite starting together for only a short period of time, has been marveling. With the glare of the national spotlight hovering over them, they have risen to the occasion with a mix of skill and maturity. As head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said after the game:

They know each other very well. They played against each other, competed against one another, but they know each other really well. With Angel having the ability to put it on the floor and get to the rim, kind of pull her out a little bit and allow Kamila to just dominate the paint. Now Kamila can do the very same. Kamila can step on the floor and get to the rim and that will allow Angel to dominate the paint. That allows our perimeter game to really go off to be able to do what they want because there is a lot of spacing with the dominance in the paint.

The Chicago Sky (6-9) will play the Las Vegas Aces (8-6) at home on June 27 at 7 p.m. ET.