UNCASVILLE, Connecticut – The Indiana Fever lost their first playoff game against the Connecticut Sun 93-69 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday afternoon.
In a game where the Fever lost their momentum early, Indiana is now 0-1 in the best-of-3 series against the Sun in the playoffs. Connecticut could win the game as early as Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena. A win on Wednesday would send the Fever to Indianapolis on Friday.
Here are three observations:
Fever value: Fever vs. Sun Match Report: Caitlin Clark struggles as Fever loses Game 1
Caitlin Clark is stabbed in the eye and struggles with the shot
Just 90 seconds into the game, Caitlin Clark was on the court. She fell to the ground after Sun player DiJonai Carrington poked her in the eye and grabbed her face in obvious pain. Clark did not leave the game; she returned to the bench for a brief moment after Indiana called a timeout, then collected herself and continued playing.
But that may be why she struggled so much on the field in the first half. She played in obvious pain – the ABC broadcast showed that a black eye had developed over Clark’s right eye by halftime.
Unusually, she didn’t make a single three-pointer in the entire first half and finished the first 20 minutes with just three points. She made 1 of 9 field goals and 0 of 6 three-pointers.
She bounced back in the third quarter, hitting two three-pointers and a layup to bring her total to 11. But the Sun did what they had to do: They prevented both her and Kelsey Mitchell from getting going at the three-point line. Clark made 4 of 17 field goals and 2 of 13 three-pointers.
Fever struggles with questionable decisions and shot clock issues in the first half
Carrington’s poke to Clark’s eye was not called a foul despite protests from teammates and fans. This wasn’t the Fever’s only questionable decision in the first half either; they used their challenge 45 seconds into the game to protest a foul called on Aliyah Boston when she was not near the court. That challenge was successful and the foul was awarded to Lexie Hull.
There were several instances where head coach Christie Sides felt a foul was not called. One time, the referee had to eject her when she challenged a no-call. Sides received a technical foul later in the first half when the referees called Hull out of bounds on the baseline. Erica Wheeler had to stop Sides from speaking to the referees further after that technical foul.
In addition, the Fever’s transition game, the fast-paced offense they like to play, was hampered by intermittent shot clock issues. Three times in the first half, the shot clock did not start when the Fever gained possession of the ball, causing unnecessary stoppages in play that affected their flow and style of play.
Damiris Dantas scores double-digit points as a substitute
Fever backup center Damiris Dantas is one of four players on the Fever roster with playoff experience this season, and she has the most of any, playing in eight playoff games and contributing to the Minnesota Lynx’s title run in 2015.
She plays as a stretch four, backing up Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith. Over the course of the second half of the season, her play has earned her more and more minutes, and Sunday was no different.
Dantas sank two three-pointers in the first half to keep the Fever in the game at that point. She had 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting by halftime and as a 3-point threat, she can effectively pick apart the Fever offense.
Dantas played 23 minutes in the Fever’s loss and scored 12 points, eclipsing Smith’s nine minutes.
