Indiana Fever defeat Dream in OT, continue playoff push

Led by their Big 3, the Indiana Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream in an overtime thriller, continuing their compelling playoff push as the WNBA season winds down.

The game was a wild affair that was mostly close from start to finish, although Atlanta did race out to a 16-point lead in the third quarter. The Fever went on one of their now-patented offensive runs shortly after, though, and that lead became mostly an anomaly.

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Indiana Fever's Big 3 comes up big with balanced scoring

The Fever have been about their Big 3 lately, and that was the case in this one as well. Aliyah Boston led the way from down low, scoring 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting while going 8 for 8 from the line and grabbing 13 big boards.

Caitlin Clark was next in the scoring parade with 26, and she hit multiple free throws down the stretch to go with 12 assists, although she shot just 4 of 13 from beyond the arc and turned the ball over 9 times.

Kesley Mitchell also had a wild night. She got hot early and ended up with 21 points, but Mitchell also turned the ball over 4 times early on. The only other Indiana player to score in double figures was do-it-all role player Lexie Hull, who chipped in with 12 while making big plays that don't necessarily get noticed in the box score.

Atlanta leaned hard on Rhyne Howard, with Tina Charles adding a double-double

Rhyne Howard has shown the ability to get hot before, and she basically went off for the Dream to score 36 points on 13 for 28 shooting, although she, too, was just 4 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Tina Charles had yet another double-double with 17 points and 12 boards, although it took her 22 shots with just 7 makes to get to that total. Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada chipped in with 15 and 17, respectively.

Howard's hot streak aside, Atlanta was able to stay in this game by taking care of the ball and matching Indiana on the boards. They turned the ball over just 8 times, while the Fever ended up with 17 miscues.

What this game means going forward

For Indiana, this win puts the Minnesota loss on Friday mostly in the rear view, although the common thread that links that game with this one is the turnover count, with Clark "leading" the way with nine against the Dream. The Fever also know they need to tighten things up on defense, but this was a mostly free-flowing, up-and-down affair that's reflected in the triple-digit final score and the fact that regulation ended with the two teams tied at 90.

Indiana now gets a couple of days to go over the tape before the Las Vegas Aces come to town. The Aces are 22-13 with star A'ja Wilson playing all-world basketball, and if the Fever turn the ball over and play soft defense against Vega it could be a long night indeed.

For Atlanta, the loss represents a heart-breaking opportunity to keep pace with the Chicago Sky, who beat the Dallas Wings big despite losing Angel Reeses for the rest of the year to a wrist injury. Atlanta came into this one having one two of their last three, but dropping back here hurt.

The Dream aren't out of it yet, but they face Minnesota a home while Chicago's next game is with the Mystics at home, and at this point of the season they simply can't afford to fall two games back in the race for the eighth spot and rely on a win in their September 17th matchup with the Sky to get them back in it.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough