The Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever played a huge game on Sunday afternoon. The two teams entered just a half-game apart in the playoff standings with only 10 games left in the regular season.
The possible playoff matchup lived up to the billing, needing overtime to decide the winner. When the dust settled, the Fever escaped with a 95-91 win, picking up a huge win.
Indiana forced the season series against Atlanta to end tied 2-2, keeping the Dream from clinching an important head-to-head tiebreaker.
The win comes in the first game of a five-game road trip for Indiana. The Fever have been focused on resting their stars when they can this season, and now the team plays five games in the next eight days, including Sunday’s win over the Dream.
Atlanta ended the first half on a 17-4 run. Allisha Gray finished the half with 17 points, while no other teammate had more than seven. She ended the game with 32 points, a career-high, but it wasn’t enough to help her team pick up the win.
The Dream had a chance to win at the buzzer. Rhyne Howard missed a three-point attempt. Angel Reese had a clean look right at the basket but missed, and then Naz Hillmon couldn’t get the last-second attempt to fall, sending the game to OT.
The extra frame was just as back-and-forth as regulation was between the two teams. With 23 seconds left in overtime, the Fever held a three-point lead.
Kelsey Mitchell hit a layup, not only extending Indiana’s lead but also giving her 20 points in the game. She has now scored at least 20 points in 19 straight games.
Howard was then fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three free throws, bringing the Dream within two with 10.8 seconds left.
Clark was fouled and hit both free throws, putting the Fever up four. Atlanta tried to hit a three-pointer to force a foul, but missed. Clark got the rebound and flung the ball down to the other end of the court while time ran out.
The Fever guard finished with 26 points, 9 assists and 3 rebounds. Indiana center Aliyah Boston had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
With all of the focus on Clark, Mitchell, and Boston, Makayla Timpson was able to fly under the radar and finish with a career-high 20 points, picking up key points in overtime.
Atlanta was led by Gray, who had a career-high 32 points and added seven rebounds and five assists to her stat line. Reese had yet another double-double, this time with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Indiana’s win moves the Fever to 23-12 on the season. The Fever currently hold the fourth spot in the WNBA playoffs with nine more regular season games to play. Indiana will be back in action on the road against the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday night.
Atlanta now begins a four-game road trip starting on Tuesday against the Las Vegas Aces. The Dream dropped to 21-13 on the year, but remained the five-seed in the playoff picture.
Currently, Atlanta has 10 games left, and it is hard not to start eyeballing the Dream’s final games of the regular season, as they will play the New York Liberty in their last two games, which could come with great playoff implications.