A Fever dream: Indiana shocks Dream to reach semifinals against Las Vegas

The Fever trailed most of the game but got contributions all over, closing on a 7-0 run over the final 2:05. They’ve reached the final four, and Las Vegas awaits.

Sep 19, 2025

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — After giving up 56 first-half points and trailing for most of the game, all that mattered for the Indiana Fever was that they were on top when the final buzzer sounded.

This resilient group tapped into what makes them special — complete buy-in, no egos, and an unwavering spirit — to outscore the Atlanta Dream 7-0 over the final 2:05 en route to a 87-85 win Thursday night.

The lively, dance-filled crowd at Gateway Center Arena didn’t know how to act; they were stunned.

Weren’t we all, though, in so many respects?

The Fever weren’t supposed to make the playoffs.
The Fever weren’t supposed to win two elimination games.
And the shorthanded Fever certainly weren’t supposed to do it like this.

But that’s why you play the game.

This group is battle-tested and has been through just about everything you could imagine. They had six players out due to injury, including Caitlin Clark, while the Dream did not have one player on their injury report.

Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers for the third straight game with 24 points — despite Atlanta’s defensive game plan centering on slowing her down. When they sent multiple defenders at her, teammates stepped up.

“Kelsey puts us on her back a lot,” head coach Stephanie White said postgame. “We run her ragged, but she's so dangerous in those ball-screens. And I think what you've seen throughout the course of the last two months is not just that she's a great scorer, but the gravity that she brings. And then she makes the right plays and she makes the right reads.”

Fittingly, it was a total team effort with all five starters in double figures and several others starring in their roles. Whether it was Brianna Turner’s activity level and defense, Makayla Timpson pulling down five rebounds in four minutes, or Odyssey Sims scoring seven of their first 13 points and threading the pass to Aliyah Boston for the go-ahead layup — this Fever team continues to find a way.

“I said before the game started, it was gonna be a gut-check type of game,” said Mitchell. “I think you just have to dig deep. I think you have to really give yourself in ways that you least expect. I know I did from a leadership standpoint, and just kind of seeing and reading the game.

“It was big for us because we could easily given up. We’re them here in Atlanta, the fans, there's a lot of factors that go into it, and we didn't (give up).

“I wouldn't (want to) play with any other group. It's a special group.”

The highlight of the Fever’s first half was Mitchell’s 19 points and just two team turnovers. Otherwise, the Dream led by seven, shot 56% from the field, and scored 40 points in the paint — more than they had in all of Game 2.

The Fever buckled down after halftime, limiting Atlanta to 17 and 12 points in the final two quarters. They held the Dream to 16 paint points after the break, finished +10 in that area, and didn’t allow a point off turnovers while converting 10 Atlanta miscues into 13 points.

“This group has been through every situation imaginable,” head coach Stephanie White said postgame. “And we knew that we just had to keep it tight. We knew we had to get stops and I felt like for a long period of time we were getting stops and then not getting scores. And it just takes a couple of breaks to go your way and the loose ball that bounced into our hands.”

White has been emphasizing three things: 1) play fast, 2) move the ball sideline to sideline, and 3) get into the third and fourth actions.

That’s what won them the game.

That closing 7-0 run was the Fever figuring it out and scoring off broken plays.

When the Dream were all over Mitchell, Lexie Hull attacked the rim for a layup (Turner on the assist). After a defensive stand, they went inside again, with Sims picking up a loose ball and firing a dart underneath to Boston for another bucket.

And then the Fever got the most important defensive stop of the season. Atlanta’s Bri Jones didn’t get a clean look, and then the Fever celebrated on the court while the fans stood … in shock.

They had done it.

“This group is just really special,” White said, holding back tears. “I mean, we say it pretty much ad nauseam, but it's like the resilience, the flexibility, the welcome and inclusive nature of this team, their selflessness to pull for the we over the me, the ability to let each teammate be who they are and shine at their best, and to lift them up in those moments — that's good for 12 to 15 points. It is. And you couple that with the resilience, the toughness, the grit, the fight, the scrappiness, and you always give yourself a chance.

“I love riding with these guys. I love coaching them, and I'm just so incredibly proud of them.”

Exactly two hours later, the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces escaped with a one-point win over the Seattle Storm to also advance.

So it’ll be Fever–Aces and Lynx–Liberty (or Mercury) in the semifinal round — beginning Sunday.

Clark wore her black Air Force 1s for the second game in a row. After the victory, she pulled one off on the court and held it high. Now there’s no way she can wear anything else for the rest of this playoff run.