Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell shine as Fever beat shorthanded Mercury

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever bounced back from their disappointing loss to the Washington Mystics with a win over Phoenix at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night, marking their second-straight win over the Mercury.

But the Mercury didn’t make it easy. Down 23 points going into the fourth, Phoenix started the quarter on a 16-4 run, then at one point got within four points, despite missing Diana Taurasi (out injured) and Brittney Griner (who left in the second quarter with an injury and didn’t return). The Fever held on for a 95-86 win behind big-time performances from four of five starters.

Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 28 points, while Aliyah Boston (21 points, 13 rebounds), Caitlin Clark (20 points, 13 assists) and NaLyssa Smith (14 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles.

It is the first time the Fever have won the season series against the Mercury since 2016; Tamika Catchings’ final year in the league. Indiana has one more game against Phoenix, which comes as its first game after the Olympic break on Aug. 16.

Insider:Caitlin Clark a passing maestro with 13 more assists. ‘You just have to be ready.’

MoreFever ‘limitless’ when young core plays like it did for most of win vs. Mercury

The Fever are 10-14 with two games remaining before the Olympic break.

Here are three observations:

Fever take down underhanded Mercury

The Phoenix Mercury were already shorthanded when they flew into Indianapolis on Thursday night, ruling guards Diana Taurasi, Sug Sutton and Charisma Osborne out a day early for Friday’s game.

That meant the Mercury, who usually carry 11 players on their roster instead of 12, only had eight available players. So, they waived forward Liz Dixon and brought on former Fever guard and 2024 No. 15 draft pick Celeste Taylor for some backcourt depth on Friday morning. Taylor’s only practice with the team was their one-hour shootaround on Friday morning in Indianapolis.

Then, guard Natasha Cloud was a late scratch for the Mercury with a knee injury, giving Phoenix seven players to start the game. That number quickly dwindled down to six available players after center Brittney Griner collided with teammate Kahleah Copper in the first quarter and injured her hip. Griner left the game and went to the locker room, and she was officially ruled out around halftime.

Copper and Rebecca Allen ended up being the Mercury’s only starters available the entire game. Cooper played 35 minutes with a game-high 36 points, while Allen had four points in 25 minutes.

Taylor, who had officially been a part of the Mercury for less than 12 hours, was playing meaningful minutes against her former team. Taylor had only played 16 total minutes in nearly half the season with Indianapolis; she exceeded that number on Friday.

More:Just hours after being signed by Mercury, Celeste Taylor faces former Indiana Fever team

Taylor wasn’t much of a scoring aspect of the Mercury’s offense, but the former Ohio State standout and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year primarily guarded Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Taylor played 24 minutes and finished the game with five assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a +/- of +10.

Caitlin Clark breaks single-quarter assist record

The Fever rookie is renowned for her assists, and she put on a clinic in the first quarter. Whether it was a cross-court lob to Kelsey Mitchell or a bounce pass in the paint to Aliyah Boston, Clark was connecting with her teammates on a different level.

Clark racked up more points than assists in the first quarter, finishing the opening 10 minutes with five points and seven assists. It was a Fever franchise record for most assists in a quarter. By the third quarter, Clark had her fifth-straight points-assists double-double, which is one off Courtney Vandersloot’s WNBA record of six in a row.

In the month of July, the Fever rookie is averaging 12 assists per game. Her season average of 7.6 is second in the WNBA, only behind Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas’ 7.9 per game.

NaLyssa Smith returns to starting lineup

Fever third-year forward NaLyssa Smith returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence, something coach Christie Sides said was because of a “team matter.”

Lexie Hull slotted into the starting lineup in that game against the Mystics, while Katie Lou Samuelson moved over to the 4. While Smith came off the bench (and ended up starting the second half), the Fever took a loss to the league’s worst team.

More:NaLyssa Smith came off bench in Fever loss to Mystics because of a ‘team matter’

The forward returned to form Friday night, as she rejoined the starting lineup and Samuelson moved back to the 3 spot. Smith ended up playing 34 minutes on Friday night, going 6-of-13 from the field for 14 points and 10 rebounds.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score against the Mercury?

Clark had 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting (2-of-7 from 3-point range). She added 13 assists, six rebounds and finished with six turnovers.