Fever end 10-year wait for home playoff win, force winner-take-all Game 3 in Atlanta
From a strong start to a 27–7 run, the Fever’s improved shooting and relentless fight powered a wire-to-wire win over the Dream — and set the stage for a decisive Game 3.
COLLEGE PARK, GA — Good evening from Atlanta. Technically, College Park, not even a mile from the Atlanta airport. This is where both the Dream and College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League affiliate, call home.
It was a travel day for me — and for the Indiana Fever. The team held a film session on Wednesday before flying out in the afternoon for a second straight must-win game. (And I appreciate the continued support of subscribers like you, which helps make my coverage possible.)
Just like at the start of the season, the Fever are getting a heavy dose of the Atlanta Dream. And Thursday night, it’ll be winner-take-all Game 3.
Damiris Dantas (concussion) has already been ruled out, missing the entire series.
“She's continuing to progress, so that's good,” Stephanie White said before Game 2.
“Obviously we'll miss having her size and her ability to play with physicality. We miss that and being able to give AB (Aliyah Boston) a blow and our ability to stretch the floor — another 3-point shooter, somebody that we can we can use to space the floor, give AB some some room to to operate and just have another offensive threat.”
Now, let’s look back at a memorable outing Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. (Plus, videos and photos from the Fever win.)
Home Playoff Game — And Win — At Last
Tuesday’s experience for the Fever and their fans was 10 years in the making.
A long 10 years without a playoff win after a previous decade of being the most consistent team in the league. Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings (who was in attendance) retired after the 2016 season — the last time the Fever hosted a playoff game inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Thanks to the influx of attention brought by Caitlin Clark and sustained by the rest of the team, the Fieldhouse was buzzing on Tuesday. The place was waiting for a moment to erupt, letting out a decade of emotions.
That moment came to end the third quarter, which has been the Fever’s worst quarter all season. They closed on a 19–7 run — including seven points in 43 seconds, and five points in just 7.5 seconds.
Up by eight with under a minute left in the third, Brianna Turner — filling a big role due to Dantas’ injury — was fouled and went to the free-throw line.
She made both (and the Fever were a remarkable 15 for 15 on the night), then the Fever forced a backcourt turnover. That led to Aliyah Boston going to work inside, her most productive game of the series.
Newcomer Shey Peddy then tipped the inbounds pass and Kelsey Mitchell claimed it. The ball zipped from one side of the court to the other as Mitchell found Boston, who then hit Lexie Hull for the open 3.
Bang.
The more than 16,000 fans inside the Fieldhouse let everyone hear it — including those watching the national ESPN broadcast. They were having fun, and you can be sure players across the league were watching too.
The Fever led 20-14 and never trailed in a 77-60 win over the Dream to force a Game 3. But that third-quarter flurry was the moment you could say: yeah, they got this one.
“The energy — everyone felt it,” Boston said postgame, smiling. “The crowd was going crazy. And we just used that momentum into the fourth.”
The Fever entered the fourth quarter up by 15 and they weren’t done yet. They scored the first eight points and Dream guard Allisha Gray was whistled for two fouls in the first 50 seconds — giving her five.
Ultimately, it was a 27–7 Fever run. By that point, Dream first-year head coach Karl Smesko called timeout and began looking ahead to Game 3.
“Defensively, we had a few breakdowns, a couple run-outs for layups,” he said. “But in the half-court, we were pretty good defensively. I mean, we held them to under 80 points and they're a good offensive team. We just had too many dry spells on offense and we just couldn't ever really get it going. And we credit their defense, but we're gonna have to be better offensively next game.”
The Fever held Atlanta to under 38% shooting, made four times as many 3s as they did in Game 1 (8 for 19), were perfect at the line (15 for 15), and dominated inside. More than that, they thrived off the energy in the building.
“We played good enough defense down there (in Game 1), our offense just couldn't get going,” White said. “And we were able to get it going on both sides tonight. I continue to just be so proud of this group and their resilience, their toughness, and their ability to respond.”