Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell lead Fever to win, season sweep of Mercury

The Fever resumed their season Friday with a win over the Phoenix Mercury for a 3-0 season sweep. And they had a whole lot of fun doing it with Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell combining for 57 points.

A massive crowd turned out and was loud in welcoming the Indiana Fever back after a month-long Olympic break.

Future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi will be remembered for saying “reality is coming” in regard to Caitlin Clark in April, before Clark was even the No. 1 overall pick taken by the Indiana Fever.

Taurasi wasn’t exactly wrong — there’s been physicality, additional ball pressure and an increased talent level — and there was a lot more to what she said, but it’s Clark who got the last laugh this season.

In their first game since the Olympic break, the Fever hosted the Phoenix Mercury on Friday and ended the night celebrating a 98-89 win in which they led for the majority of the game — and by as many as 28 points.

Clark erupted for 29 points, five rebounds and 10 assists — her eighth time in 10 games with double-digit assists — and Kelsey Mitchell added 28 points in the win. They combined for 57 of their 98 points in front of the sellout crowd (17,274) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

It wasn’t just the Fever’s 12th win of the season, it was their third over the Mercury for the season sweep — a first for the franchise since 2020, and a first against the Mercury since 2015.

“Those are things that haven’t been done in several years,” head coach Christie Sides said postgame. “Just that's a huge win for us. We just keep building on all these little things and keep talking about our habits that are gonna help us be successful. But we just keep looking for the next game.

“We're not looking ahead for anything. We're pushing for those playoffs, but just going game by game.”

The Fever put on a show for a rowdy crowd that was thrilled to have Fever basketball back, and the team clearly had fun doing it, especially after a 33-16 first-quarter lead.

“It was pretty fun,” Clark said, smiling. “I think we came out with a lot of energy. It's just continuing to find a way to sustain that…”