The Indiana Fever led the Toronto Tempo by three points at halftime Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, but the narrow margin did not come without pressure. Caitlin Clark was in the lineup despite a back issue, and the Fever needed her to steady a game that had already begun to tilt toward another tense finish.
That was enough to make Clark a search term again. She entered the game listed as probable and still put up nine points, nine assists and five turnovers by halftime, while Kelsey Mitchell had 13 points and Aliyah Boston added 11 points and seven rebounds. Toronto stayed close behind Laura Juskaite, Marina Mabrey and Isabelle Harrison, with Brittney Sykes also drawing attention early as the Tempo tried to match Indiana possession for possession.
The Fever arrived with a three-game win streak, but the number hid as much as it revealed. Indiana had beaten the Washington Mystics 78-76 on June 8 on Clark’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, then outlasted the Chicago Sky 114-106 in overtime after giving away a 19-point lead, and followed that with an 85-75 win over the Connecticut Sun after surrendering an 11-point advantage. Kelsey Mitchell said the issue has been discipline, especially fouling, and the numbers back her up: the Fever led the WNBA in fouls per game at 23.9.
Tuesday’s first half showed both sides of Indiana in one stretch. The Fever controlled the glass 23-15 and held a 32-26 edge in the paint, and Makayla Timpson finished a behind-the-back pass from Clark with 3:36 left in the second quarter, while Sophie Cunningham hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first. Toronto, though, kept finding answers through Mabrey’s 11 points and five assists, Harrison’s 10 points and seven rebounds, and Juskaite’s 14 points, which kept the gap from turning into the kind of lead Indiana has recently struggled to protect.
Myisha Hines-Allen was questionable to return after taking a hit to the face, adding another variable to a game already shaped by injury concerns and late-game habits. If the Fever close this one, it will say as much about their control as their scoring. If they do not, the second half will look a lot like the recent games they have won and nearly given away.
