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Caitlin Clark warms up in the second half, but Fever loses again to Aces

Vaseline September 14, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS — In the most competitive game of the season, the Indiana Fever lost for the second straight time to the Las Vegas Aces on Friday night, 78-74.

The Fever are now 19-19 on the season and in sixth place in the playoffs.

Here are three observations:

For the first time this season there is a fever

With the Aces’ 4-0 sweep of the Fever this season, Las Vegas is officially the only team the Fever has not defeated this season. However, for a team that won five games just two years ago, the Fever have improved immensely, only to be swept by the back-to-back reigning WNBA champions.

Especially since the final game of the series on Friday night led to mistakes. The Fever came within one point late in the fourth quarter, but could not overcome the hump.

The Fever avoided a sweep against league-leading New York Liberty in July, giving the Liberty one of its six losses of the season. Indiana also avoided sweeps against third-ranked Connecticut and fifth-ranked Seattle, while winning the first game of its series against second-ranked Minnesota.

Caitlin Clark Breaks Single-Season Assist Record

In an unusual night, Caitlin Clark had no points at halftime. In a night filled with a technical foul in the first quarter and three personal fouls with two minutes left in the second half, Clark played just 14 minutes in the first half and took just five shots.

But she made good on those minutes in the first half by putting her teammates in position.

Clark collected six assists in her 14 minutes on the court, and her fifth was a record-breaker. She threw the ball to Kelsey Mitchell after a foul, and Mitchell laid it in for Clark’s 317th assist of the season — a new WNBA single-season record. It broke the previous record of 316 held by Connecticut Suns forward Alyssa Thomas, set in 2023.

The Fever rookie has said throughout this season that she prefers to set up her own teammates. Her court vision is unmatched, even making the transition from the collegiate ranks to professional basketball. But her scoring hasn’t changed with that court vision — she still averages 17.8 points per game.

And she showed it in the second half, scoring 14 points in the third quarter alone, shooting 6 of 9 in that quarter.

Fever works through physical play, Clark called for technical

In the first of these back-to-backs against the Aces on Wednesday, the Fever struggled to get into a groove due to seemingly constant fouling. The Fever prefers to play up-tempo, transition basketball, and whistles got in the way.

It was the same story in the first half Friday, when the Fever and Aces each picked up eight first-half fouls, three of which were on Clark, forcing the Fever rookie to sit.

Clark also received her sixth technical foul of the season, when she hit the upright in frustration over her second personal foul. Clark has received a technical foul for hitting the upright before, but it’s also something she’s done throughout the season and hasn’t received a technical foul for yet. That puts Clark just one game away from a suspension should she receive one before the end of the regular season.

In addition to the fouls, there were several other stoppages; Fever center Aliyah Boston was elbowed in the face and had to briefly go to the locker room (she eventually returned to the game). Later in the second quarter, Boston and Aces guard Chelsea Gray fought fiercely over a ball that was eventually called a jump ball. Erica Wheeler was also punched in the face in the third quarter, but she walked it away.

Kelsey Mitchell was the only reason the Fever stayed in the game in the first half. At halftime, they trailed by just eight points. Mitchell accounted for 19 of the Fever’s points, while no other player scored more than five.

The Fever finally found their groove in the third quarter, playing the tempo attack that has been successful for most of the season, outscoring the Aces 22-17 in that quarter.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score against the Aces?

Caitlin Clark finished with 18 points — all in the second half. She shot 7 of 18 from the floor (2 of 8 from 3) and flirted with another triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds.