Caitlin Clark erupts for career-high 35 points, sets new rookie record as Fever clip Wings for 20th win
Caitlin Clark erupts for career-high 35 points, sets new rookie record as Fever clip Wings for 20th win
The Indiana Fever won a shootout against the Dallas Wings and got a record-breaking day from Caitlin Clark on Fan Appreciation Day in what they hope is not the final home game this season.
About two hours before tipoff inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the fire alarms went off.
Not just once, but multiple times.
It happened at 1:05 p.m., fittingly about the time when Caitlin Clark made her way to the court for usual individual shooting. The alarms even delayed head coach Christie Sides’ pre-game press conference by just a few minutes.
Maybe it was just a test or a preview for what was to come…
Hours later, and after 219 combined points, another sellout crowd — the 16th of the season — of 17,274 exited The Fieldhouse full of happiness as the Indiana Fever got another win, their 20th of the season, and secured the No. 6 seed in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs.
Yes, the similarities to the Pacers continue. They were the 6-seed and opened the playoffs on the road; the Fever will do the same in one week.
The Fever started slowly yet again, trailed by two points at halftime only to come back and hold off the Dallas Wings (9-30) in what was a shootout, 110-109.
The Fever’s 110 points matched a franchise record for a regular season game, as did their 16 made 3-pointers.
When Christie Sides was hired before last season, she discussed with management a four-year plan. She’s in Year 2 and Caitlin Clark, who sides referred to as the atomic bomb, came in and changed everything. For the Fever and the league.
And that’s given them a jumpstart on a rebuild with a 20-win season for the first time since 2015.
“Just really proud of these players for what they've done, the work they put in, the resiliency they've shown,” Sides said.
Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with 30 points and has been a consistent scorer all season, was the No. 2 overall pick in 2018 and she’s never experienced a winning season or the playoffs.
This season, she is getting both. Finally.
“It's a big deal,” Mitchell said. “I've never accomplished something personally like that. So hats off to our group, hats off to the season so far. I say so far because I look forward to hopefully a really good run for us in the playoffs. So I'm excited about the 20 wins. I'm grateful.”
Clark erupted for a career-high 35 points and was one of five players in this high-scoring affair to score at last 26 points. It was that kind of offensive showcase.
“I thought the game was really fun,” she said postgame. “Obviously, once we got it to eight, I wish we could have kept that a little bit better. We didn't execute really in the half-court as well and when they started throwing some traps at us, we didn't respond to it great. I think just executing that last minute and a half a little bit better, where we don't have to just go to the free throw line and make a bunch of free throws. I thought we were great at that, but you want to get to the point where you don't have to rely on that, too.
“I definitely love this type of game, very high scoring, but our defense can be a lot better, too.”
As many have observed, she speaks like a coach and discusses the game so well. Of course she appreciates the offense, but also understands that this isn’t sustainable against elite teams. Nobody feels that way.
“I will always take 110 points,” Sides said with a smile. “But my first note when I sat down was you can't beat good teams giving up that many points. Really good teams that are first, second, third, whoever we're gonna play, you just can't. You can't give up that many points. You've gotta find ways to get stops, because that also is where we're at our best, is in transition when we get those stops.”
Opponents have done a better job of containing the Fever and limiting what they do in transition. The Wings tried to slow the game down and they outscored the Fever 20-2 in transition. That’s jarring.
Clark and Mitchell each made six 3s and they combined for 65 points. Just last game, a close loss to the Las Vegas Aces, they scored 74 points as a team. This was a whole different ball game and Clark was loving it.
“Once I had that first three go in and I made a couple after that, my shot felt pretty good,” she said. “And honestly, I felt like I should have made eight tonight. I got a couple tough rolls, I just seemed to not be able to get over the hump of really getting hot.
“I know I was six for 14, that's pretty good. But I still feel like there was a couple there that was like, how's that not going? I think just playing loose and also knowing that you've had success prior to against this team. And our first two matchups with them, I think that just brings you confidence as a player and thought we were really good last time we played in Dallas.”
You could sense something was different about her starting with her arrival. Then her pre-game interview with us, where she also shared that afternoon games on the weekends are her favorite. They’re just better, she said.