Caitlin Clark: “There’s still so much left” after Fever wins playoffs
The Indiana Fever secured a spot in the playoffs late Tuesday night without having played a single game.
INDIANAPOLIS – On the same day she was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month, Caitlin Clark recorded the second triple-double of her career as the Indiana Fever overcame a rocky start to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks 93-86 for their 18th win of the season.
Indiana has won five games in a row and seven of eight since returning from the Olympic break and is now sixth in the WNBA standings at 18-16, with a playoff spot already secured.
More: This is how Caitlin Clark and Christie Sides reacted to their playoff participation
Here are three observations:
Lack of rhythm and ball losses cloud the first half
Something wasn’t going right for the Fever in the first half. Indiana, who had just secured their first playoff spot since 2016, was playing against the Sparks, who were in last place.
But despite the lead on paper, the Fever were unable to gain an advantage against the Sparks. This was not unusual; Indiana has struggled against weaker teams this season, even suffering losses to the Washington Mystics and Dallas Wings when they were in last place.
The Fever couldn’t find their rhythm in the first half, and that was especially evident in the first quarter. Indiana committed two backcourt violations — which is very unusual for the Fever — and lost the ball eight times. They couldn’t get a run going or create space.
Fortunately for Indiana, Los Angeles was unable to capitalize on the Fever’s mistakes. Indiana still led after the first quarter, albeit by one point. Los Angeles then turned the tables and went into halftime with a one-point lead.
But that only gave Indiana more momentum. They found their rhythm in the second half and built a lead of as many as eight points in the fourth quarter to beat the team in last place in the league.
Caitlin Clark’s behind-the-back passes provide highlights
As the Fever found their rhythm in the second half, Clark punctuated her passing with some spectacular moves. On Wednesday night, it was behind-the-back passes.
Her first goal wasn’t credited with an assist, but it was still a highlight that might be one of SportsCenter’s best plays. Clark threw the ball behind her back through two defenders to Aliyah Boston, who kicked it to a completely unmarked Erica Wheeler to make it 3-0.
And the crowd went wild as the ball flew through the net.
Minutes later, she showed off her behind-the-back skills again. After making a three-pointer and then grabbing a loose ball on defense, Clark rushed to the basket as if she was going for a layup. Instead, she threw the ball behind her back and back to Boston, who dodged Sparks forward Rae Burrell and made a layup.
Behind-the-back passes are part of Clark’s repertoire, but she doesn’t usually use them as often as she did on Wednesday night. The Sparks weren’t expecting that; exactly the reason they wanted to catch her off guard.
Kelsey Mitchell’s streak of games with over 20 points ends
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell’s franchise-record streak of scoring 20 or more points ends at seven games. Mitchell had scored 20 or more points in every Fever game since the Olympic break, including an incredible 36 against Dallas on Sunday afternoon.
On Wednesday she narrowly failed.
She entered the final two minutes of the fourth quarter with 18 points, but by that point her shot was off target. She had a chance to break the 20-point mark with 58 seconds left, but the ball bounced off the rim. Then, as Lexie Hull grabbed the offensive rebound and tried to pass the ball back to Mitchell, she was fouled.
Hull hit both free throws and Mitchell’s chance to score two more points faded as the Sparks fouled on every Fever possession. Indiana failed to get a shot on Mitchell before she fouled, and the seven-year veteran finished with 18 points.
How many points did Caitlin Clark score?
Clark recorded a last-second triple-double by grabbing a rebound on the Fever’s final defensive drive and finished the game with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
It is the second triple-double of her career and she is the only rookie in WNBA history to achieve a triple-double.
She also made 4 of 10 three-point shots, becoming the first rookie in league history to make 100 or more three-point shots.
