Caitlin Clark had 24 points and nine assists and the Indiana Fever overcame an early 16-point deficit to defeat the Phoenix Mercury 86-77 on Monday night in Indianapolis.
Kelsey Mitchell added 22 points, Monique Billings had 14 points and 10 rebounds and the Fever (10-7) bounced back from a 19-3 deficit late in the first quarter to tie the score at halftime and outscore the Mercury 30-11 in the third quarter to take command.
Kahleah Copper scored 20 points and Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and nine assists to lead the Mercury (5-13), who will face the Fever again Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Aliyah Boston made a 3-pointer to start the third-quarter scoring and Lexie Hull added a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that gave the Fever a 49-41 lead. Copper made a layup for the Mercury’s first points of the half, but Billings scored six points, Clark had five and Indiana expanded the lead to 62-46.
Phoenix crept within 12, but Mitchell scored seven points to help the Fever increase the lead to 71-52 at the end of the third quarter. The closest the Mercury got in the fourth quarter was the final score.
Hull made a 3-pointer to start the scoring, but Phoenix dominated the rest of the first quarter. The Mercury scored 19 straight points as six different players scored and five of the nine field goals were layups.
Mitchell made a 3-pointer just before the quarter buzzer to end the Fever’s 9 1/2-minute scoring drought, leaving Phoenix with a 19-6 lead at the end of the period. Indiana made just 2 of 18 field-goal attempts; both makes were 3-pointers and the team missed all six of its 2-point attempts.
Clark sparked a dramatic turnaround in the second quarter. She made a 3-pointer and assisted on Myisha Hines-Allen’s 3-pointer as the Fever scored the first eight points of the period. The Mercury rebuilt the lead to eight points on two occasions before Clark made a 3-pointer and another jumper to get Indiana within 26-25.
Copper made a 3-pointer to push the lead to four, but Clark had four points during a 7-0 run that gave the Fever a 34-31 lead. Copper scored four straight to put Phoenix back on top before the score was tied four times, the final time being 41-all at halftime.
–Field Level Media
