NEW YORK — The Indiana Fever lost their second straight game on Saturday night, falling to the New York Liberty 109-102 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Fever (24-14) matched a WNBA single-season record for most games with three players scoring 20 or more points. Caitlin Clark had 21 points and seven assists while Aliyah Boston added 22 points and six assists. Kelsey Mitchell continued her WNBA record streak with a game-high 25 points — her 22nd game scoring 20 or more points.
The Liberty (23-15) have won 10 of their last 13 games. Breanne Stewart had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Leonie Fiebich had 20.
Here's what I liked and disliked, and what the loss means.
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What I liked about Indiana Fever's loss vs New York- Potent offense: As usual, Indiana's offense was shooting lights out throughout the game. The Fever shot over 50% in the first half then a blistering 72.2% in the third quarter, finding a way to easily work through the Liberty's defense. Aliyah Boston went 5-for-5 in the third quarter, scoring 11 points herself in those 10 minutes. The only problem? Neither team played a lot of defense. The Liberty's offense was even better, and Saturday's game was one of those nights that the Fever's offensive prowess couldn't save them.
- Fourth-quarter comeback: Indiana trailed by 10 points with just over seven minutes left in the game, but the Fever weren't going down without a fight. They went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes, capped off by a midrange jumper from Clark, to pull within one point of the lead. The Fever had some chances to take the lead in that stretch, like two missed free throws from Monique Billings, but they still managed to tie the game at 100 with a 3-pointer from Mitchell with just under two minutes left in the game.
- Lackluster defense to end first half: While Indiana stayed within striking distance going into halftime, some lackluster defense kept them behind New York. The Fever committed five fouls over the final three minutes of the game, allowing the Liberty five points off free throws in those three minutes alone. Fiebich, in her first game back in six weeks, got a heads up play on the Fever defense as well, luring Boston out of the paint with a pump fake before passing it to a wide-open Stewart under the basket
- Free-throw shooting: This is something that has been recent plague for the Fever, dating back to Indiana's overtime loss against Las Vegas on Aug. 6. No player who shot a free throw in the first three quarters made all of them: Boston was 2 of 4, Kelsey Mitchell was 4 of 6, Caitlin Clark was 1 of 2, and Myisha Hines-Allen was 2 of 4. Billings then missed a pair in the fourth quarter.
- Myisha Hines-Allen's injury: Hines-Allen's minutes were going well for the Fever at the end of the game: She drew a pivotal charge, negating a shot from Sabrina Ionescu, and had seven rebounds in 14 minutes. She left with injury with under a minute left, though, holding her right shoulder and arm area as she walked directly back to the locker room with a trainer. The Fever have not said what her injury is yet.
These two games against Dallas and New York were the most important games for potential seeding as the season winds down, and the Fever lost both of them. Dallas now holds the tiebreaker 2-1, and Indiana is now 2-2 with New York, which doesn't guarantee them a tiebreaker win (second tiebreaker is record vs teams over .500). These were the games Indiana needed to win on the road trip, and they fell short.
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.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Free throws undo Indiana Fever in loss to New York Liberty on front end of back-to-back
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