ATLANTA — Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points, including the game-winning free throw with five seconds left, Caitlin Clark added 19 and the Indiana Fever held off the Dream 84-79 on Monday night to the disappointment of the Atlanta crowd.
With no timeouts in the final seconds of the game, Atlanta missed two 3-pointers but got two offensive rebounds before fumbled the ball, leading to Mitchell’s free throws.
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Aliyah Boston had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, and Damiris Dantas added 11 points off the bench to help the Fever (14-16) win their most games in a season since going 17-17 in 2016. Clark made four 3-pointers, tying Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard’s rookie-season record of 85 in 2022.
Clark added seven assists and seven rebounds to her long-range shooting. It was Clark’s 21st game this season with at least 15 points and five assists, the most in WNBA history, per ESPN Stats & Information Research.
“Our teamwork has gotten better,” Clarke said of the Fever’s recent play, adding that personally, “I feel like there are still a lot of areas where we can improve and that’s what excites me as a player.”
Player of the Season, Team Totals 2024 Caitlin Clark, IND 21 2023 Alyssa Thomas, CON 20 2017 Skylar Diggins-Smith, DAL 20 2013 Diana Taurasi, PHX 20 — ESPN Stats
Atlanta (10-19) started the day a half-game out of the final playoff spot but outshot the Fever 41-32 early in the second half after Clark’s 3-pointer put them within 18. The Dream pulled within two but Indiana scored on a five-point possession to thwart a comeback.
Tina Charles led Atlanta with 21 points, and the game moved to the home of the Atlanta Hawks, drawing a record attendance of 17,608, beating the 17,575 who had attended the previous game against the Fever. Howard had 16 points and Alisha Gray added 12 points, but was held to zero points after receiving a flagrant foul from Boston midway through the third quarter. Jordan Canada added 10 points for the Dream.
Howard’s 3-pointer gave Atlanta a 76-74 lead with 4:13 left, but Clark got the offensive rebound and set up Lexi Hull for an and-1 layup a minute later. Hull rebounded a missed free throw and sent an and-1 layup to Mitchell, who converted it for an 81-74 lead.
With under a minute left in the game, Atlanta’s Nia Coffey hit a three-pointer to make the score 82-79.
Mitchell had 15 points and Boston had 12 total points on 12-of-21 shooting as the Fever led 52-38 at the half.
Mitchell has scored a total of 105 points in Indiana’s past four games, according to ESPN Stats & Information, tying the mark she set last year for the most points in four games in Fever history.
At halftime, the gold medal team from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was honored.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.