Turnovers, defense and a costly third quarter doom Fever in Atlanta
Indiana wasted a season-high 37-point first quarter, committing 10 turnovers in the third as the Dream pulled away and scored a franchise-record 113 points in a Saturday matinee.
The Indiana Fever opened with their best first quarter of the season, scoring 37 points behind Caitlin Clark’s fast start, then got a second-period lift from Kelsey Mitchell’s shot-making. But after leading by as many as 11, the game flipped quickly as Atlanta took control with second-chance opportunities (22 points to 13), transition points (20 to 2) and a decisive third-quarter run.
The Dream outscored Indiana 28-15 in the third quarter and never looked back, handing the Fever a 113-96 loss at State Farm Arena.
Atlanta’s 113 points set a franchise record, while the Fever dropped to 9-7 after back-to-back losses to the Dream. Indiana now returns home for three straight games against Phoenix, Phoenix again, and Los Angeles.
Defense is still a major issue, yielding 100+ points in five of their seven losses this season. Turnovers (19) continue to set them back. And today's performance was not up to The Standard.
Clark finished with a game-high 26 points and Rhyne Howard had 24 for the Dream. There were a combined 53 foul calls, resulting in 52 free-throw attempts.
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