Pre-Review_WNBA: Indiana Fever at Atlanta Dream

1st Quarter:

Indiana wins the tip and gets it up the floor in a hurry.

Caitlin Clark wastes no time, pulling up from 28 feet on the game's second possession to put the Fever on the board early.

Atlanta answers behind its frontcourt, as Angel Reese muscles in for an offensive rebound and putback to even things up.

The Dream's defense starts leaning into Clark, sending an extra body her direction, and Indiana counters by finding cutters underneath — a give-and-go feeds Aliyah Boston for an easy two.

With the crowd at Gateway Center buzzing, Allisha Gray catches fire, splashing back-to-back threes to swing momentum Atlanta's way.

Indiana calls timeout to settle things down, but Rhyne Howard closes the quarter with a steal and coast-to-coast layup.

End of 1st: Atlanta 24 – Indiana 17

2nd Quarter:

The Fever bench provides a jolt, with Kelsey Mitchell knocking down a pair of jumpers to trim the deficit.

Indiana's defense tightens, switching everything to take away Atlanta's driving lanes, and forces back-to-back turnovers that turn into transition buckets.

Clark starts to find her rhythm, threading a no-look bounce pass to Boston for an and-one, then following it with a stepback triple of her own.

The Fever's 14-2 run flips the game, and Indiana heads to the locker room in front.

Atlanta's Jordin Canada answers late, weaving through traffic for a floater right before the horn, but it's not enough to erase the deficit.

Halftime: Indiana 41 – Atlanta 38

3rd Quarter:

Reese and Howard try to wrestle momentum back for the Dream, combining for 11 quick points to open the half.

Indiana's offense goes cold for a stretch, missing five straight from the field as Atlanta claws back in front.

Clark answers the lull with a step-back three from well beyond the arc, silencing the run.

Both defenses dig in, trading empty possessions until Gray drills another three off a well-designed inbounds set, pushing Atlanta's lead back to five.

Boston keeps Indiana afloat inside, converting on a tough and-one through contact to close the gap heading into the fourth.

End of 3rd: Atlanta 61 – Indiana 58

4th Quarter:

The pace ratchets up as both teams trade buckets early in the frame.

Clark takes over down the stretch, scoring on back-to-back possessions — a floater in the lane followed by a pull-up three — to give Indiana its first lead since the second quarter.

Atlanta doesn't blink. Howard answers with a contested triple of her own to knot the score with under three minutes left.

The Fever get a stop and find Mitchell wide open in the corner for a dagger three, forcing an Atlanta timeout.

Reese scores on a tough post move to cut it back to two, but Indiana's defense locks in, forcing a Dream turnover on the ensuing possession.

Clark is fouled with 14 seconds left and calmly sinks both free throws to push the lead to four.

Atlanta gets one last look, but Gray's contested three at the buzzer rims out.

Final: Indiana 88 – Atlanta 84

Summary:

Caitlin Clark's fourth-quarter surge proves to be the difference as Indiana survives a late push from Atlanta to extend its winning streak. The Fever's ability to close out possessions defensively down the stretch was the story after Atlanta controlled much of the third quarter. For the Dream, another strong showing from their trio of scorers wasn't quite enough to overcome a slow start and a cold finish.

Notable Stats:

Indiana Fever

Caitlin Clark — 29 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 three-pointers Aliyah Boston — 19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists Kelsey Mitchell — 16 points, 3 three-pointers

Atlanta Dream

Allisha Gray — 24 points, 5 three-pointers Rhyne Howard — 21 points, 4 assists Angel Reese — 17 points, 13 rebounds