The victory comes with a $500,000 payout for the Fever, who have now won three of their past four (though Tuesday’s contest does not count towards their regular-season record).
Caitlin Clark missed her third straight game with a groin injury, but others stepped up for the Fever to get the win.
A big night back in Minneapolis for
Natasha Howard
There were plenty of key contributors tonight, but how about Natasha Howard? Back in Minneapolis where she won a WNBA championship and two conference titles in her two seasons (2016-17), the veteran forward went for 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting (8-for-8 free throws) with 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals. She was named the championship game MVP.
Howard kickstarted a sputtering Fever offense in the second quarter, assisting on an Aari McDonald layup and a Sophie Cunningham 3 on consecutive possessions to end a four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought.
Howard spent the third quarter helping extend the Fever lead, totaling 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting as the margin reached as many as 14.
Howard has been very good for the Fever over the past two games. She scored 13 points vs. Los Angeles, then went for 15, plus 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals in a win over Dallas.
Second quarter surge
The Fever trailed 27-14 less than two minutes into the second quarter.
They returned to the locker room with a 32-27 halftime lead.
Indiana’s physicality on the defensive end helped disrupt the well-oiled machine that is the Minnesota offense, forcing its ball-handlers into tough passes (a number of which were picked off) and challenging its shooters on nearly every look — something they struggled with through most of the opening quarter.
The Lynx went 0-for-10 from the field over the final 8:13 of the first half, a credit to the Fever, who maintained their defensive intensity throughout.
Lexie Hull spoke before the game about the importance of mimicking what the Lynx do offensively, staying patient and finding open looks, and that’s exactly what the Fever did, as they methodically chipped away at the 13-point deficit.
A five-point spurt comprised of a McDonald layup and Sophie Cunningham 3 brought the margin under 10, then Cunningham worked to draw an offensive foul underneath the basket — and promptly drilled a go-ahead 3 on the other end.
Indiana’s run reached 20-0, then 22-2 through the opening stages of the third quarter.
Road warriors
There were plenty of fans with Caitlin Clark jerseys. But a large number of them were either wearing Lynx jerseys or attending the game with Lynx fans.
That’s a roundabout way of saying the Lynx fans far outnumbered the number of Fever fans, making for a loud, hostile environment for the visitors, magnifying their early struggles on both ends of the floor.
The margin felt larger than it was, but Indiana set about taking the crowd out of it with that massive second quarter run and never gave them opportunity to get back into it.
The crowd roared back to life as the Lynx clawed back to within seven and forced a Fever timeout early in the fourth. Indiana retaliated immediately with two baskets by Aliyah Boston and another by McDonald.
It was essentially a perfect road game by Indiana, which mounted a response every time the Lynx found any sort of momentum after the opening quarter.
