Fever bounce back with big win over Lynx to improve playoff seed: Likes and Dislikes
The Fever bounced back for a much-needed win.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever hosted the Minnesota Lynx Tuesday night for a pivotal pre-playoff matchup. Both teams had quite a bit at stake regarding postseason seeding.
The Lynx could have locked up the top overall seed with a victory, earning them homecourt advantage throughout the entire playoffs. The Fever, meanwhile, could still host their first-round series with a win (and another win, plus some help) and were also playing to improve their seeding floor. A victory would lock Indiana into the top six.
The Fever were coming off of a miserable performance against the Washington Mystics and needed to show much more in this one. Star rookie Olivia Miles was out for the Lynx. Likes and Dislikes from Fever-Lynx.
Tony East
LIKE: Fever's early tempo
Getting stops and hitting shots makes everything feel better. And the Fever were doing that early – not at an incredible level, but much closer to their average than on Sunday.
That, plus three turnovers from Minnesota in the first 4.5 minutes of play, helped the Fever get into the open floor more often. And that's when they're at their best – playing balanced, transition basketball.
An early 6-3 edge on the boards, 3-1 edge with turnovers, and 5/11 start guided the Fever to a 15-12 lead at the game's first stoppage. It wasn't perfect, but the pace the Fever were playing with was much better.
LIKE: Controlling the game
Outside of Napheesa Collier, who scored over half of the first-quarter points for the Lynx, nobody could get going for Minnesota. The Fever's defense was strong – particularly in the paint – and they controlled the glass.
The Fever's offense was solid too, scoring 31 points in the first quarter – that's more than they had in the first half two days prior. Caitlin Clark was on triple-double watch early with eight points, three assists, and five rebounds.
When things click on both ends, the Fever look unbeatable. And that was their first-quarter level, up 31-16 against the Lynx after 10 minutes.
LIKE: Embarrassing a foe
There was a lot of game left for the Fever to blow their lead, which they are known to do. But the Fever's response to their awful outing on Sunday was as loud as it could be.
13.5 minutes into the game, the Fever were up by 23 points over the top-seeded Lynx. Their defense was solid. Their offense looked awesome. Kelsey Mitchell climbed over 10 points at the foul line early in the second quarter and heard "M-V-P," chants from the crowd. The vibes were high.
The Mystics made the Fever look weak two days ago. The first 1.5 quarters of Fever-Lynx were the opposite – Minnesota took a timeout down by 25 with 5:32 until halftime. The Fever were tossing no look passes and scoring almost three points per minute, completely embarrassing the Lynx to that point. Minnesota benched their starters moments later.
LIKE: Dominant half, by the numbers
In the spirit of doing a "by the numbers" after the Fever's bad first half on Sunday, here's another after they dominated Minnesota for 20 minutes:
-The Fever had 31 points on just threes and free throws in the first half, nearly equaling the Lynx total (34)
-The Fever big three of Clark, Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston had 40 points through two quarters, outscoring Minnesota
-The Fever had more defensive rebound (19) than the Lynx had total rebounds (14)
An excellent half by almost every measure. The Fever led 57-34 at the break.
DISLIKE: Second-half opening minutes
Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve continued to deploy her bench players to start the second half. Initially, it felt like the Lynx were waving the white flag.
Instead, they opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run, getting their deficit down to 12. It was an ugly stretch for the Fever, who needed more than 3.5 minutes to score for the first time in the second half.
They started 0/5 from the field while Minnesota reserves battled back. Fever head coach Stephanie White took a timeout with 6:37 left in the third quarter to regroup.
DISLIKE: Falling apart on defense
After holding the Lynx to 34 points in the first half, the Fever allowed 30 in just the third quarter.
Minnesota shot 11/17 in the quarter, including 8/11 on two-point shots. Even with their starters on the bench, the visiting bench group lived in the paint and found the net on jumpers in the third.
The Fever couldn't stop them. And their offense stumbled a bit, scoring just 14 points in the period. The Fever were going to have an energy advantage if the Lynx only relied on a few depth pieces in the second half, but they had work to do with their lead down to 71-64 after three frames.
LIKE: Caitlin Clark, willing to victory
The Fever weren't great to start the fourth quarter, opening up the period on a 13-9 run. Clark, however, was great.
She scored six points in that stretch without missing a shot, and she assisted both of the team's other made baskets during that span. After 6.25 minutes of fourth quarter action, she set up or scored all of the Fever's points in the frame.
It was much needed, and it gave the Fever an 11-point cushion with less than four minutes to go.
LIKE: Streaks and seeding
With just over two minutes to go, Mitchell hit a three to extend her streak of 20-plus point games to 27. That record felt in jeopardy for much of the game, but Mitchell scored seven fourth-quarter points to keep it alive.
And her scoring, plus Clark's strong frame, helped the Fever close out the Lynx. Doing so secured a top-six seed for the Fever, and their seeding range as of the final buzzer is 3-6, though that could become 4-6 if the Aces win later tonight.
The Fever cannot play Minnesota, Dallas, or New York in the first round. More will be known after Liberty vs Dream tomorrow, but the Fever took care of business on Tuesday with a 96-77 win to improve to 28-15.
Thank you for reading. One more game for the Fever on Thursday before the playoffs. Sign up and have more stories like this one sent straight to your email inbox.
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