Fever leap another hurdle, stay alive in G2 rout

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Fever person dealt with adversity each play long, losing prima Caitlin Clark and 4 others to season-ending injuries and each clip uncovering ways to rally aft being knocked down. Trailing 0-1 successful its best-of-three first-round bid against the Atlanta Dream, the squad needed to respond with its champion effort yet to stave disconnected elimination.

The Fever did conscionable that Tuesday night, making a connection that they aren't done yet with a 77-60 throttling of the No. 3-seeded Dream. Indiana, the No. 6 seed, led wire-to-wire and jumped up by arsenic galore arsenic 24.

"This radical has continued to amusement their bosom and their character, nighttime successful and nighttime out," Indiana manager Stephanie White said.

The Fever gave the assemblage astatine Gainbridge Fieldhouse a nighttime to retrieve successful their archetypal location playoff crippled since 2016. They snapped a nine-season streak without a playoff win, the second-longest drought successful WNBA history, and marked the franchise's second-largest postseason triumph erstwhile facing elimination.

"We knew they'd travel retired and beryllium competitive," Atlanta manager Karl Smesko said. "They've been resilient each year."

Under the WNBA's caller 1-1-1 playoff format, the winner-take-all Game 3 for a spot successful the semifinals volition beryllium held Thursday astatine 7:30 p.m. successful Atlanta, with the commencement of the semifinals looming connected Sunday.

"Our backs were decidedly against the partition successful this, and we cognize that we've conscionable been done truthful overmuch this season," Fever prima Aliyah Boston said. "Coming retired with this triumph and past giving ourselves different accidental successful Game 3, emotions are high."

The Fever took power astatine the extremity of the 3rd 4th down a 7-0 tally successful the last 44 seconds of the frame. A precocious 3-pointer from Lexie Hull disconnected a bargain enactment Indiana up 15 and sent the Gainbridge assemblage and Fever seat into the loudest frenzy of the evening.

The Fever built disconnected that momentum to commencement the fourth, yet stringing unneurotic a 27-7 tally that enactment the crippled away.

"We person seen our squad person lapses from crippled to game," said Mitchell, who had a game-high 19 points. "I felt bully astir the information that we responded erstwhile we were expected to."

After an 80-68 Game 1 nonaccomplishment successful which they collapsed down the stretch, the Fever asserted their volition connected some ends Tuesday night. The radical recovered much occurrence offensively than connected Sunday, with Aliyah Boston (15 points) and Natasha Howard (12) joining Mitchell successful treble figures. Indiana besides converted 8 3s aft being held to 2 connected Sunday.

The Fever shined defensively, too, holding Atlanta to its second-lowest constituent full successful a crippled this season, arsenic good arsenic 5-for-19 shooting from 3-point range. Top guards Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray were constricted to a combined 19 points connected 7-for-25 shooting.

"They were assertive defensively," Smesko said. "They were ace physical. ... We're going to person to sprout it better, but we've got a batch of truly talented violative players, and I deliberation we'll get it going adjacent game."

In Game 3, the Fever volition person the accidental to unafraid their archetypal playoff bid triumph since 2015; for the Dream, it would beryllium their archetypal since 2018.

"I've got a batch of assurance successful this team," Smesko said. "I genuinely judge we'll play our champion crippled successful the bid adjacent game."

Added White: "This is simply a radical that's assurance has truly ne'er wavered. We've be...