Indiana Fever dominate second half to beat Toronto Tempo, Likes and Dislikes
The Fever dominated the second half in the win.
INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time ever, a Fever game featured O Canada before tipoff. That's because it was the first-ever game between the Fever and the Toronto Tempo, an expansion franchise added this season.
The Tempo have held their own so far, possessing a 7-7 record 14 games into the season. They aren't pushovers but lack size, the Fever's biggest advantage was on the interior. Toronto has Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey, two guards who have historically fared well against the Fever.
Raven Johnson (ankle) was available to play after taking a tumble in practice on Monday. Likes and Dislikes from Fever vs Tempo below.
Tony East
LIKE: The early impact of rebounding
The Fever started the game 3/9 from the field and had two turnovers in the first four minutes. Yet they were hanging around in a tie game at 9-9 thanks to some strong work on the glass.
The Fever had four offensive rebounds 3.5 minutes into the game. Two minutes later, the Tempo had four rebounds total. Toronto was shooting 11% better from the field at the time, but the Fever had more shot attempts and more free throw attempts. That kept them in the game despite some accuracy issues.
DISLIKE: Missed layups
This has been, and still is, a huge issue for the Fever. Generating layups is good, but the Fever cannot make them.
In one possession early, both Kelsey Mitchell and Monique Billings missed from inside three feet without hitting the rim. The Fever actually started 5/13 at the rim, a dismal rate from in close. Two of the shots were blocked.
This is a trend for the Fever, and they need to figure out what is causing them to rush or smoke so many layups.
DISLIKE: Two early injuries
Less than three minutes into the game, Caitlin Clark missed a layup. Billings grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled, and while she was walking to the charity stripe Clark was limping slightly under the basket.
She walked off any pain, then played for much of the rest of the quarter (and game). But it was a notable sight for Clark, who was playing in her 13th game of the season – the same number she played last year.
Later in the period, Myisha Hines-Allen looked to score in the paint and took a hit from Isabelle Harrison. It wasn't immediately clear what specific injury the contact caused, but Hines-Allen jogged over to the Fever bench instead of getting back on defense. She held her hands below her face as if she was trying to catch something.
As soon as possible, the Fever took a timeout. Hines-Allen went back to the locker room. The Fever's frontcourt depth would be tested for the rest of the game (or rather, until the second half when Hines-Allen returned).
The score after one quarter: Fever 26, Tempo 20.
LIKE: Caitlin Clark drives in the second quarter
Clark's three ball wasn't falling in the first half, but she was finding success with her drives and passes. The star guard was 0/3 from deep at the break but had the rest of her game working.
Clark was 3/6 on twos, and all three makes came right at the cup. Her rim pressure opened up the court in other important ways, and her passing shined as a result. Clark had nine assists at halftime – the Fever had 13 as a team. She was terrific probing in the first 20 minutes.
LIKE: Sophie Cunningham, fearless again
Sophie Cunningham's scoring flurry was the final blow the Fever needed in their win over the Connecticut Sun this weekend. And the sweet-shooting wing came out with the same focuses against Toronto.
Cunningham hit a big three at the buzzer of the first quarter, then kept it rolling with another triple and layup in the second. She was +6 at halftime, the second-best mark of any player on the roster.
It was a nice continuation of her outing in Connecticut. Cunningham had eight points and two rebounds at halftime. This story is tipped too much toward the likes so far, but it's hard to pinpoint the exact nature of the Fever's defense struggles. They lost one too many shooters, but Cunningham and Clark had strong enough second quarters to give the Fever a 53-50 lead at the break.
LIKE: Upping the defensive intensity
The Fever started the second half just okay, then fell behind 59-57 with 7:40 on the third-quarter clock. The game was shifting away from them.
The next 3:12 was all Fever. They allowed just three points in that stretch and forced a turnover, and they turned stops into easy offense. They scored 15 points in that span, taking a nine-point lead at the time they forced a Toronto timeout. And not long after that stoppage, their lead reached 10.
The scoring was obviously impressive, but the Fever's defensive intensity guided much of their strong run. Aliyah Boston, in particular, was being disruptive when summoned to the top of the defensive shell.
That defense carried for the rest of the third quarter, and the Fever led 85-73 after three frames. That was good news, but they've blown leads often recently.
LIKE: Kelsey Mitchell's start to the second half (and game in general)
The third quarter for Mitchell? 4/4 from the field for 12 points. She played the entire quarter and led the Fever's offense. She was still on the court to open the fourth.
At the time, Mitchell had 25 points on 9/10 shooting. It was a very impressive offensive night from the All-WNBA guard. A snapshot of that instant: Mitchell and Cunningham had a combined 45 points on 9/10 shooting from deep and 16/20 overall. Pretty good.
LIKE: Leaving bad habits behind, mostly
There's 5:47 left in this game, so plenty of time for a jinx. But so far:
-The Fever are keeping their foul count down
-The Fever are holding a double-digit lead without any letup
-All of the Fever's stars are gelling, and doing so together.
I wrote about all these things as trends this morning. There was still time left, but the Fever were keeping their worst habits out of this game in the final quarter.
LIKE: Offensive masterclass
With 2:17 left in the game, the Fever reached 106 points. It was just the eighth time in franchise history they've scored that many points, and just the sixth in a non-overtime outing.
Their offense was buzzing, and it allowed no chance for a late Tempo comeback. The first half was close, but the Fever controlled the final two quarters en route to a dominant win.
The final score: Fever 113, Tempo 91. It marked the second-highest scoring game in Fever history and most in a regulation game. They improved to 9-5 with the win.
That's four in a row for the Fever. Sign up to read more about their games, Pacers news, and other happenings between the two franchises.
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