Caitlin Clark racked up 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals as the Indiana Fever forged a torrid first half and held on to defeat the Minnesota Lynx 96-77 on Tuesday in Indianapolis in the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams.
The Fever and Lynx will play again on Thursday in Minneapolis in their final game before the playoffs with plenty on the line.
The Lynx (32-11) can clinch the top seed in the playoffs for the third straight season if they win Thursday or if Golden State loses either of its final two contests. Minnesota can finish no worse than second.
Indiana’s victory assured it will finish no worse than sixth in the standings. The Fever (28-15) can still finish as high as third in longshot scenarios that involve beating Minnesota on Thursday and losses by Atlanta and Las Vegas.
The Fever led by 23 points at halftime. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve responded by benching all the players who started the game for the Lynx — not to rest them for the final game, but to send a message.
The Lynx’s reserve unit culled their deficit to seven points when Aari McDonald hit a driving layup with three seconds to play in the period that ended with Indiana up 71-64. But the Fever righted the ship and pulled away in the fourth quarter to win for the fourth time in five games.
Kelsey Mitchell added 20 points for the Fever, extending her record streak of 20-point games to 27. Aliyah Boston hit for 17 and Sophie Cunningham had 11 in the win. The Fever outshot the Lynx 50.8% to 37.5% on the night.
Chloe Bibby led the Lynx with 15 points, with Liatu King adding 12, McDonald finishing with 10 and Dorka Juhasz tallying 12 rebounds and six assists. Minnesota’s star rookie Olivia Miles missed the game with a sore left calf.
The Fever led 31-16 after the first quarter. They kept their foot on the accelerator throughout the second period, stoking the margin to 29 points on a Clark stepback jumper with 1:44 until halftime. Bibby’s 3-pointer with 24 seconds left allowed the Lynx to trim their deficit to 57-34 at the break.
Clark led all scorers with 14 points before halftime while Mitchell and Boston chipped in 13 apiece for Indiana. Napheesa Collier paced the Lynx with nine points in the half before sitting out the second half.
–Field Level Media
