Fever beat Fire and climb over .500, Likes and Dislikes

INDIANAPOLIS – The Portland Fire are a franchise once again, and they were in Indianapolis for the first time since re-joining the WNBA on Wednesday night. Portland's disruptive style gives teams fits, but the Fever and their well-practiced hit ahead passes were well equipped to combat it.

The Fever's look changed less than two hours before tipoff when they announced that Caitlin Clark would miss the game with a back injury. It was her first absence of the season. Head coach Stephanie White said it was not right for the team to take a chance. They're being cautious.

Tyasha Harris started for the first time this season with Clark out. Likes and dislikes from Fever-Fire.

LIKE: Fever's early response to defensive pressure

The Fever had two turnovers in the first 5.5 minutes. They won't care for that. But they had six assists in the same stretch and were moving the ball well in response to Portland's aforementioned chaotic style.

When traps would come, the Fever threw the ball ahead. When the Fire swarmed drivers in the lane, the Fever kicked the ball out to open shooters. They weren't stagnant despite varied defensive coverages.

In those first 5.5 minutes, the Fever had six made shots. All six were assisted. That's how they were going to need to play all night without Clark, and they did so early.

LIKE: The stars against clutter

The Fire want to junk up the game, as mentioned multiple times already. Pressing, trapping, the works.

It can mess teams up, but the Fever's star players were composed in the first quarter in a way that kept the team on track. Of Indiana's 16 first-quarter shots, eight came from Kelsey Mitchell or Aliyah Boston. Six of those went in. Those two almost matched the Fire's scoring on their own.

The Fever's start was exactly what it needed to be when shorthanded against a unique team. They were ahead 28-20 after the first quarter.

DISLIKE: Second quarter offense and flow

The Fever were responding to the challenges Portland threw at them in the first quarter. In the second? Not so much.

Four minutes into the period, they were 2/5 from the field with two turnovers and five fouls. None of their threes went in while the Fire found some offensive solutions.

Across the first 4:56 of the quarter, that all came together for a 10-2 run for the Fire. It was a two-point game at that point, all but erasing the Fever's effective start.

LIKE: Extra possessions

Just as the game was getting too close for comfort, the Fever changed their fortunes on the glass. Monique Billings, Makayla Timpson, and Myisha Hines-Allen were getting their hands on multiple offensive rebounds.

Billings tipped out two in one possession, which led to free throws for Mitchell. Hines-Allen got involved on the next play, then Timpson pulled one in and set up a Mitchell three.

All of the team's offensive rebounds came within about 100 seconds. Their lead reached double digits once again in that stretch. It turned the momentum of the game around at a key time for the Fever.

Halftime: Fever 53, Fire 37

LIKE: Fever defense

The Fever have been switching in this game, and it's kept Fire guards out of the paint. When Portland does get in close, they've run into frontcourt size and struggled.

Halfway through the third quarter, the Fire were 12/25 (48%) in the paint. At the time, it was more than 10% worse than the Fever's shooting percentage from the same area. While defense is not typically the Fever's strength, they looked sharp on the less glamorous end of the floor through 2.5 quarters on Wednesday night.

That was the story of the third quarter. After three: Fever 73, Fire 51

LIKE: Lexie Hull's outing

After consecutive nine-point games, Lexie Hull finally reached double figures for the first time of 2026. And she did it without missing a shot – Hull was 3/3 from the field (all on threes) and made two foul shots when she climbed over 10 points.

Hull's shooting can be a weapon, but her main role is being a defensive force. And she was excellent on that end of the floor, too. Statistically, she only had a block to show for it early in the fourth quarter. But she shut down several Portland ball handlers and took multiple offensive fouls.

Hull was +24 for the game with the Fever up 21 after 32.5 minutes of play. She was great on both ends.

DISLIKE: Challenges

Making sure a call is correct is great. But the flow of Fever-Fire has been awful in the fourth quarter thanks to two Portland challenges – one successful, the next unsuccessful.

The Fever are much better in a free-flowing game. They were up more than 20 points, so the suddenly-choppy game wasn't of major significance. But it slowed things down and made for a chipper game that the Fever had to close out. There were way more whistles down the stretch than there were in the rest of the game.

First three quarters: 33 fouls (11 per quarter). Fourth quarter: 14 with two reviews

LIKES: A mostly normal close

In both of the Fever's first two wins, they let their collective foot off the gas in crunch time. Granted, the result was already decided. But they didn't slam the door.

It wasn't a perfect final few minutes against Portland, but after a Fire run the Fever answered and pulled their lead back over 20 with about three minutes to go. That let them roll to the final buzzer.

The Fever have now won two games in a row. They're 3-2. Final score: Fever 90, Fire 73.

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