Aces star A'ja Wilson gets into heated exchange with fan in Game 2 loss to Fever: 'That is unacceptable'

Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson got into it with a fan sitting at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday late in their Game 2 loss to the Indiana Fever .

And she did not hold back on the man after the game, either.

"I've never seen A'ja Wilson go like that," Aces head coach Becky Hammon said after their 99-89 loss. "So whatever was done, I can tell you she felt very disrespected in that moment. I've never seen her really react like that, ever."

Wilson was trying to fight through a screen set by Sophie Cunningham midway through the fourth quarter in Indianapolis when the two got tangled up. Cunningham was sent down to the court hard, and was called for a foul.

But as Wilson was walking down the lane after play had stopped, she suddenly erupted at a fan sitting behind the basket. Wilson had to be pulled back by several teammates and officials. It's unclear what was actually said by the fan to spark the exchange, but Wilson was livid.

The fan was removed from his seat briefly, but returned soon after and was spotted celebrating with people sitting around him, according to Fever reporter Tony East .

"If I see a man come at me, taking steps toward me and pointing at me, I don't give a damn what you said. I don't give a damn how you said it, the tone, that is unacceptable," Wilson said after the game. "You don't know me to step toward me and point at me. I'm not for that s*** at all … That there is unacceptable. How he gets back in the game because they said he didn't do anything, of course he did."

After a lengthy review, Wilson was assessed a technical foul and Cunningham was called for a personal foul. Kelsey Mitchell missed the free throw for the Fever, while Wilson hit both of hers. That made it a nine-point game with 4:10 left in the contest.

Wilson said that she apologized to her team for the technical foul, but she's not sorry for her actions.

"It's just certain things that I'm not going to allow anymore, because it's unacceptable," she said. "You don't know me at all to come and step toward me and point at me and say anything."

The Fever released a statement on the incident after the game, saying they are not going to investigate the matter further. The fan in question, they said, did not violate their rules and was allowed to return.

"Following a report of a comment directed toward a player, arena security spoke with the fan involved and witnesses," the team said, via The Athletic's James Boyd . "Security determined there was no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct, the fan was not removed from the arena. We consider the matter closed."

After the chaos, the Fever held on down the stretch to grab the 10-point win . That tied the series up and forced a deciding Game 3 on Thursday night in Las Vegas . The winner will advance into the semifinals.

Caitlin Clark had 27 points and 15 assists to lead the Fever while shooting 9-of-18 from the field. Kelsey Mitchell added 26 points, and Aliyah Boston finished with 22 points. Jackie Young led the Aces with 31 points in the loss, and Wilson finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.

Wilson averaged 26.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season, her ninth in the league. The four-time MVP, who has won the award in back-to-back seasons now, is widely considered the favorite to win the award again this season.

While things got heated in Indianapolis, Wilson will have a much friendlier crowd for the winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday. A fan interaction like she had on Tuesday shouldn't be something she has to worry about.

"You don't have to like me, you don't have to love me," she said. "You can hate me with all your heart. But you don't know me. "But I guarantee you will respect me."

"You don't have to like me, you don't have to love me," she said. "You can hate me with all your heart. But you don't know me.