INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark posted the primary triple-double by a rookie in WNBA historical past to assist rally Indiana to an 83-78 victory over New York on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, snapping the Fever’s nine-game dropping streak to the Liberty.
Clark completed with 19 factors, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Indiana (9-13). The No. 1 decide within the WNBA draft was one rebound shy of a triple-double two video games in the past in an 88-82 highway victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
“Clearly, it’s actually cool,” Clark stated. “My teammates have been ending the ball actually, actually at a excessive fee. My help numbers … that’s due to them.”
Indiana coach Christie Sides was impressed by Clark and the truth that the Fever outscored the Liberty by 12 within the last interval.
“Caitlin with a triple-double, my gosh, that’s unbelievable,” she stated after the sport. “Holding New York to 16 factors within the fourth quarter, that’s large for us. That’s the No. 1 crew within the league.”
Clark had 11 factors within the first quarter, making 3 of 4 from 3-point vary. She topped double figures in assists within the third quarter and handed the 10-rebound mark within the fourth.
Clark had a three-point play and Kelsey Mitchell adopted with a 3-pointer to tie the sport at 75 with 2:31 to go. Aliyah Boston scored off a steal by Mitchell to provide Indiana a two-point lead and Lexie Hull’s reverse layup elevated the result in 79-75 on the 1:24 mark.
New York’s Sabrina Ionescu answered with a 3-pointer however missed one the subsequent time down the court docket with an opportunity to provide the Liberty the lead. Boston made two free throws with 17 seconds left and Mitchell hit two with 11 seconds remaining to wrap up the upset.
New York made solely 10 of 42 makes an attempt from past the arc.
“We defended nicely the entire recreation,” Boston stated. “These previous few minutes, particularly these previous few possessions, have been nice for us.”
Boston scored 18 factors on 8-for-12 capturing and had eight rebounds for the Fever. Mitchell scored 14, topping double figures for the ninth-straight recreation. NaLyssa Smith, the second total decide within the 2022 draft, added 12 factors and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double this season.
Ionescu scored 22 to guide New York (17-4), which had received 5 straight video games. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton completed with 20 factors, making 4 3-pointers. Breanna Stewart added 14 factors, six rebounds and 6 assists. Jonquel Jones had 12 rebounds to go along with six factors and three steals.
Clark hit a 3-pointer and adopted with a layup to spark Indiana to an 8-0 run to start the sport. She turned a steal right into a 3-pointer to provide the Fever their greatest lead at 24-12 with 3:04 left within the quarter. Laney-Hamilton hit a jumper with two seconds left as New York scored the ultimate six factors to get inside six heading to the second interval.
Clark’s turnaround fadeaway jumper gave the Fever a 31-20 lead with 7:48 left within the second quarter. Jones scored the ultimate 5 factors in a 12-0 run from there and the Liberty took their first lead. Smith answered with a layup to finish a scoring drought that reached 5:06 and Indiana regained the lead.
Stewart, who averaged 22.7 factors in three earlier wins this season over the Fever, made two free throws within the last minute to get New York inside 39-38 at halftime.
Laney-Hamilton hit a go-ahead jumper and Ionescu adopted with a basket and a 3-pointer off a steal by Stewart to provide New York a 57-50 lead with 4:39 left within the third quarter. Laney-Hamilton hit a pull-up jumper with three seconds left and the Liberty took a 62-55 benefit into the ultimate interval.
Clark famous the Fever are studying to not wilt underneath stress when issues aren’t going their manner.
“I believe the most important distinction has been when groups make runs, we don’t crumble,” Clark stated. “We discovered a approach to keep resilient and form of shut the hole.”
New York coach Sandy Brondello wasn’t proud of the Liberty’s mindset firstly.
“I didn’t assume we got here out with the required urgency to compete. They’re 6-4 within the final 10 video games. They executed higher than us down the stretch.”
Indiana beat New York for the primary time since posting a 92-86 highway win on Might 13, 2022. The Fever lead the all-time sequence 50-41.
UP NEXT
Liberty: Keep on the highway to play the Connecticut Solar on Wednesday.
Fever: Will host the Washington Mystics on Wednesday.
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AP WNBA:
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