Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers go shot for shot as Indiana Fever surge past the Dallas Wings

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever won a crucial seeding game against the Dallas Wings 98-87 on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Caitlin Clark, who had an injury scare in the second quarter but returned, finished with 29 points and 10 assists. Kelsey Mitchell continued her streak of 18 games scoring 20 or more points with 23 points, and Aliyah Boston posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Fever are now 22-12, fourth in the WNBA standings. Dallas (20-15) is battling the Mystics (19-14) for the seven seed, which the Wings hold. Paige Bueckers had 29 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Here's what I liked and disliked, and what the win means.

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• First-half defense: For as stagnant as the Fever's offense was to start the game, their defense kept them afloat. Indiana allowed the Wings to score 15 points on 33% shooting (including 0 of 5 from 3-point range) in the first quarter, marking one of the best defensive quarters they've had this year, especially as a team known for a subpar defensive front.
• Caitlin Clark avoiding serious injury:Clark hobbled off the floor with about 40 seconds remaining in the second quarter after she stepped on Alysha Clark's foot. She went straight back to the locked room, limping the whole way. But she avoided any serious ankle injury, evidently, as she ran back onto the court to warm up at halftime, started the second half as usual, and put the Wings defense on skates with her drives to the basket. She had 17 points in the third quarter alone, as compared to her nine points in the first half.
• Pulling away in the fourth quarter: Tyasha Harris had something to say about Dallas' three-point lead in the fourth quarter. She banked in a 3-pointer, her second of the game, to tie it with the first shot of the fourth, then hit another two minutes later to cap off a 17-2 run for the Fever, giving them a five-point lead. Indiana only extended its lead from there, and Harris gave them a 13-point lead with her third 3-pointer of the quarter with three minutes left.

• Starting slow: The Fever's typical high-powered offense wasn't active to begin the game, as they scored just six points in the first 6.5 minutes of the game. Both teams were struggling to score, especially from 3-point range, to start, and the Fever went just 3 for 13 over those first six minutes. Eventually, the Fever found their fire with a 7-0 run to tie the game in the first quarter, but it was a slow-scoring first half.
• Excessive fouling in third quarter: Even though the Fever shot better from the field than the Wings in the third quarter, Dallas feasted from the free-throw line. The Wings went 8 of 8 from the charity stripe as the Fever fouled seven times in the third quarter, allowing them to maintain their slight lead at the time and negating Indiana's hot shooting.

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Right now, there are five teams all within two games of each other in the standings; the Fever and Wings are both part of that group. It was crucial for the Fever to get this win to maintain their position at the top of that group, and to salvage the series against the Wings. The Fever are now 1-1 against the Wings, and they have the chance to win the series (crucial in tiebreakers) next week.

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Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers go shot for shot as Indiana Fever surge past the Dallas Wings