It is safe to say that the Indiana Fever have made smart decisions in the past two WNBA drafts with the selections of No. 1 picks Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. While they struggled in Boston’s rookie season, they have thrived in Clark’s. What Boston might have needed to find her role in Indiana was Clark's elite playmaking.
With the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky losing this past Monday night, they found themselves in the postseason. Now, the Fever have a winning record and clinched the No. 6 seed in this year's WNBA playoffs.
Sept. 4: Los Angeles Sparks at Indiana
93-86 Fever
Indiana was not in control for most of the game against the Sparks. This was a game where the Fever were expected to cruise by as the Sparks sat in the bottom of the WNBA standings. While Indiana was scoring, they had a hard time defending Odyssey Sims, who had 20 points on the night. In addition, Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell each scored 16 points.
In the final 25 seconds, Clark poked a pass away in the paint to find Boston to make it a five-point game. Clark then made two free throws with 16 seconds left to make it a comfortable seven-point game. However, Clark's last rebound of the game was the most important, as it was the rebound that allowed her to complete her second triple-double in the season.
Clark finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers in a season. Midway through the third quarter, Clark drained her second 3-pointer of the night to make the history. She also became the first rookie with multiple triple-doubles in a season. Boston also had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell added 18 points, just two points shy of her eighth straight 20-point game.
Sept. 6: Minnesota Lynx at Indiana
99-88 Lynx
The Fever led by five points at halftime. That was until Napheesa Collier went on a run to score nine of the Lynx's opening 20 points of the third quarter to take a commanding 65-57 lead. Indiana struggled in the third quarter, making just three field goals.
However, in the fourth quarter, Indiana opened strong in the first two minutes, making three field goals to get within one point. Bridget Carleton from Minnesota connected on two long-range shots to build another lead. Carleton then grabbed an offensive rebound on the Lynx's next possession, which led to Courtney Williams hitting a 3-pointer and Carleton hitting her third 3-pointer of the quarter to make it an 11-point game.
Minnesota snapped Indiana’s five-game winning streak as the Fever could not return after leading at the half.
Collier scored 26 points and got 10 rebounds, Carleton scored 16 and Williams added 15 for Minnesota. While Mitchell had 23 points, Boston scored 20 and Clark scored 25 for Indiana.
Sept. 8: Atlanta Dream at Indiana
104-100 Fever
The Fever overcame a 16-point deficit and came out on top in overtime. In the first half, they went back and forth on offensive ends, and in the third quarter it appeared the Dream took complete control. Then a steal and layup by Mitchell sparked an 18-5 run from Indiana, and they were then able to cut the deficit to three points going into the fourth quarter.
With 27 seconds left in regulation, the Fever were down by two points but a layup by Boston tied the game 90 all to force overtime. With two minutes left in overtime, Rhyne Howard hit a fade-away jump shot to give Atlanta a two-point lead. Mitchell then missed a reverse layup, but Boston was there for a rebound and putback with 1:39 remaining. She then scored in the post with just over a minute to play to give Indiana a two-point lead. Clark then made 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to seal the game. In overtime, Indiana shot 5-for-7 from the floor to finish off the overtime win.
Lexie Hull went 4-for-5 from behind the arc and finished with 12 points. Boston made 11 of 16 from the field and went perfect from the free-throw line. Clark made history once again, recording her 14th double-double of the season and making a franchise record. Mitchell added 21 points.
Tina Charles finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, while Jordin Canada scored 17, and Allisha Gray added 15 points.
The win against the Dream was the first overtime game played by the Fever this season and was the first time in franchise history that the Fever swept the regular season series against Atlanta.
With four games left in the regular season, Indiana will play three out of four games at home. The stretch starts off against the back-to-back WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
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