Aliyah Boston, Fever show championship mettle in OT win
The Indiana Fever beat the Atlanta Dream 95-91 in overtime on Sunday, with Aliyah Boston posting 18 points and 14 rebounds as Indiana showed championship mettle in a playoff-style clash. Coach Stephanie White said the Fever have “grown up,” and the fourth straight win put Indiana 1.5 games ahead of Atlanta for the No. 4 seed.
The game at State Farm Arena, played in the Atlanta Hawks’ building to fit a raucous crowd, split the season series 2-2. Caitlin Clark had 26 points and nine assists. For more weekend alerts, see our Fintech & Crypto Alerts hub.
Key Takeaways
- Indiana improved to 23-12 with a fourth straight win; Atlanta fell to 21-13.
- Aliyah Boston (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Makayla Timpson (career-high 20 points) combined for 10 of the Fever’s 14 overtime points.
- Allisha Gray scored 32 points but went silent after a mid-fourth-quarter 3-pointer.
- Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 for a 19th straight 20-point game, one shy of A’ja Wilson’s WNBA record.
- A Fever loss would have given Atlanta the head-to-head tiebreaker for seeding or home court.
Why did the Fever’s overtime win over the Dream matter?
White treated a five-games-in-seven-days trip as a rehearsal for playoff basketball, especially the quick prep and adjustments. Clark said you cannot let one slip because that is the difference between hosting two games in the first round or going on the road.
According to ESPN, Indiana is now a half-game behind the Las Vegas Aces (24-12). Only the Minnesota Lynx and Aces have clinched playoff spots as the 44-game regular season winds down.
The Fever upset the Dream 2-1 in the playoffs last season before Atlanta added Angel Reese. Indiana still remembers losing Game 5 in overtime on the road in the semifinals to the Aces. White said the team knows how important home court is from a year ago.
How did Aliyah Boston and Indiana’s frontcourt finish Atlanta?
The Dream led by 10 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter before the Fever chipped away. Regulation ended tied at 81 after Reese and Naz Hillmon missed putbacks in the final seconds. Rhyne Howard had missed a 3-pointer on that last sequence.
Aliyah Boston and Timpson then took over. ESPN reported the pair combined for 10 of Indiana’s 14 overtime points to put Atlanta away. Timpson, in her fifth start, also scored six points in overtime, including a banked finish after catching a Mitchell airball.
White said Timpson’s defensive growth has changed Indiana’s options. She started on Howard, then switched onto bigs and helped a fourth-quarter zone that flummoxed the Dream. Sophie Cunningham added three points and seven rebounds.
What did Clark, Mitchell, and Gray do in a playoff atmosphere?
Clark’s 26 points and nine assists marked her 23rd career game with at least 25 points and five assists, moving her to No. 5 in league history. Mitchell, the WNBA’s second-leading scorer, finished with 20 points after a rough first half and a pair of shoe mishaps, including one that forced a timeout in the final seconds of regulation.
With 13.5 seconds left in overtime, Mitchell finished a drive through traffic for a five-point Fever lead. Gray matched a career high with 32 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, but she scored none after the 6:14 mark of the fourth quarter and went 0-of-4 with a turnover in overtime.
Reese finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists — her 23rd double-double of the season, six shy of Alyssa Thomas’ 2023 WNBA record. Atlanta played without starting point guard Jordin Canada (illness). The Fever next visit Toronto, Dallas, New York, and Chicago.