In a battle of red-hot teams that definitely have the playoffs on their calendar, the Minnesota Lynx bested the Indiana Fever, 99-88, using a late surge to break open a close game and earn a convincing win.
The star for the Lynx was Napheesa Collier, who displayed all of her All-Star and MVP candidate moves in this one. She scored 26 points and added 10 rebounds on 8 of 17 shooting, and there were times when the Fever simply had no answers for her once Collier got the ball in the paint.
Indiana countered with stellar performances from their Big Three of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, who posted point totals of 25, 20 and 23, respectively. But turnovers were once again a problem, especially in the third quarter, and Clark ended up with seven while Mitchell added another four.
Indiana shines early, then stumbles in the second half
The Fever raced out to a 27-19 lead in the first quarter in a display of Indiana basketball at its best. The ball moved, Boston came out hot and the Fever committed just a single turnover. But a late run by the Lynx took some of the shine off that early lead as Minnesota closed to within six at the half, 50-44.
Indiana came completely undone in the third quarter, getting outscored 29-12 as some of their worst tendencies came to the forefront. Turnovers were once again a major problem as Clark, Boston and Mitchell posted six, and the Fever went just 3 for 15 from the field for the quarter.
The Lynx, meanwhile simply played their brand of steady basketball, which featured tough defense, consistent ball movement and making sure Collier gets enough touches to flash her all-around game. Alanna Smith got hot in the third, going 4 for 6 in the third, while Bridget Carleton was a major factor throughout, with 16 points that included a 4 for 9 effort from beyond the arc.
The fourth quarter featured a Fever run
The Fever got the crowd into the game in the decisive fourth quarter, making a run to get back within a point of the Lynx at 78-77. Unlike Indiana in the third, though, the Lynx kept their poise, forcing Clark into a turnover that led to an Alanna Smith three-pointer. Carleton hit three decisive threes to keep the Fever from closing again, and after that they steadily pulled away to get to the final margin of 99-88.
The final stats reflected Minnesota’s steadiness. Courtney Williams added 15 points to go with 13 from Smith and 16 from Carleton, and the balanced scoring gave Indiana consistent problems. It was an impressive display of poise on the road by the Lynx, who will be a formidable playoff opponent.
Caitlin Clark: a possible playoff lesson learned?
Clark was her usual mostly-brilliant self on offense, but the Big Three clearly has some poise issues in the disappointing third quarter. At one point she was blocked by Collier and sent tumbling to the floor, and Clark stayed down, obviously anticipating a foul call.
When it didn’t happen, though, she stayed on the ground, flat on her back. The Lynx quickly took advantage with a Williams jumper that gave them a ten-point lead, and Boston picked up a technical foul when she, too, had issues with the officiating.
Both Clark and Mitchell acknowledged the obvious after the game, with Clark stating that she “could have done a little bit better job controlling my emotions” during her post-game comments.
This is what playoff basketball will be like when they play Minnesota or any of the other top four in the postseason, and the Fever’s ability to pull a first-round upset will depend to a large degree on their ability to stay poised from start to finish, not just when shots are going down and they’re lighting up the scoreboard.