Fever use paint dominance to force Game 3 with win over Aces

The Indiana Fever picked up the 99-89 win over the Las Vegas Aces to force Game 3 of their first-round series.

Las Vegas won the first game of the series, but had no answer for Indiana’s paint presence in Game 2. 58 of the Fever’s total points came from inside the paint, compared to 26 for the Aces.

In the Game 1 loss, Indiana still had more paint points than Las Vegas 36-34, but it was a combination of not only paint offense but also paint defense that helped spur the Game 2 victory to even the series.

Part of the paint dominance came from second-chance points. The Fever had 11 offensive rebounds, helping keep possessions alive. Alternatively, the Aces had only seven offensive boards.

Indiana was led by Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, who all finished with more than 20 points each and combined for 74 points as a trio.

Las Vegas took an early first-quarter lead, but Indiana immediately fought back. The Fever outscored the Aces 30-17 in the second quarter and 24-17 in the third quarter, building a cushion on the scoreboard. The early effort helped make the late lead insurmountable.

The Fever had to finish the game without their star guard. Clark fouled out with 2:45 left in the game while guarding A’ja Wilson in the paint. The Aces used that momentum shift to pull within five, but it was too little, too late for a possible comeback.

Before fouling out, Clark put the team on her back. She had a double-double in the first half with 14 points and 11 assists. It was the first time in WNBA history that a player had a points-assists double-double in the first half of a playoff game.

This post will be updated.