Caitlin Clark racked up 27 points and a season-high 15 assists and Kelsey Mitchell scored 26 as the Indiana Fever forced a decisive game in their first-round playoff series with the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces, winning 99-89 in Game 2 on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Aliyah Boston added 22 points for the sixth-seeded Fever, who will head back to Las Vegas for Game 3, set for Thursday night.
Jackie Young kept the third-seeded Aces within range for a long time, pouring in 31 points and hitting four 3-pointers.
However, Las Vegas center A’ja Wilson, who pumped in 38 points in the series opener, was held to 22 points on 5-for-11 shooting without an offensive rebound. Her frustration showed with a late-game technical foul and a confrontation — shouting and finger-pointing — with a fan along the baseline.
Chelsea Gray added 10 points and seven assists for Las Vegas.
Clark capped a 7-2 spurt with a 3-pointer with less than five minutes to play as the Fever restored a double-digit lead at 87-77. She hit a step-back 3 for the team’s next points.
Las Vegas made a comeback bid by closing within 92-87 with more than two minutes left, but the Aces would get no closer.
The Fever were much better on defense than in their 102-85 road loss in Game 1 on Sunday.
But the Fever were also so aggressive that the Aces had frequent trips to the free-throw line, where they went 30-for-34. The Fever were 17-for-24 on foul shots.
Indiana stretched its lead to 58-47 early in the third quarter with Boston and Clark both providing a pair of baskets to start the period. The Fever went up by as many as 15 points before going to the fourth quarter with a 72-60 edge.
It took the Aces two minutes into the fourth quarter to close within 76-71 on Jewell Loyd’s 3-pointer. After an Indiana timeout, the margin was trimmed to 76-73 to set up the final 7 1/2-minute stretch.
Earlier, the Fever used a strong second quarter to wipe out an 11-point deficit and surge to a 48-43 halftime lead.
Clark (14) and Mitchell (12) accounted for more than half of Indiana’s first-half points. They combined to shoot 9-for-20 from the field before the break.
Wilson shot 3-for-8 from the field in the opening half, missing more shots than she did in all of Game 1.
–Field Level Media
