INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was tired Wednesday night. She said so at the podium following the 86-75 defeat to the Las Vegas Aces. Clark shot 6-for-22 from the field, which is the most shots she’s taken all season. She shot 1-for-10 beyond the arc, which is her lowest percentage in any game so far. Put simply: it was an off night for the Rookie of the Year.

“It’s gonna happen, it’s basketball,” Clark said afterward. “Overall, like, I didn’t feel like I played bad. I felt as a group we really struggled to make shots that we had been making, really, since the start of the second half… they’re gonna be physical with me… that can kind of wear you down throughout the process of the game… I subbed myself out right there in the first quarter.”

Right under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, with the Fever trailing by six points, Clark dueled with Aces’ guard Chelsea Gray. Clark began to drive to the basket and cut back. Gray wasn’t quite fooled. So, Clark drove once more, and bumped back into Gray in the paint presumably to get the and-1 call. Gray sank to the floor. The refs ruled it as an offensive foul.

Clark couldn’t believe it, loading the ball behind her neck, as if she were about to heave it far soccer style. She didn’t launch it, and let the ball drop at her waist. Teammate Temi Fagbenle walked over to make sure the refs didn’t slap on the potential sixth technical foul of the season for the rookie. While distanced, Clark raised her arms up and appeared to say, “that’s so bad.”

In the second quarter, Clark shook her head and smiled when whistled for an offensive foul.

“Honestly, they’re all really good defenders,” Caitlin Clark said of Las Vegas. “The offensive fouls are definitely surprising at times. I feel like I do get held and get quite a bit of contact throughout the games… it is what it is… apparently they see something different… (Las Vegas is) going to be physical, they’re going to do it again. It worked. But that’s what I should expect at this point.”

Fever forced to deal with foul trouble, Aces hold consistent lead

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During the first and third quarters combined, the Fever and Aces each scored 43 points. Within the other periods, Las Vegas outscored Indiana 43-32. That’s, in part, because Fever starters Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston had to sit most of the second and fourth quarters, respectively, while in foul trouble. The bench didn’t play poorly, but unorthodox rotations stifled the offense.

Since the Olympic break, the 8-3 Fever have relied upon their starters for the bulk of offensive production. That’s not necessarily bad, but it can be poisonous on nights when, say, Caitlin Clark shoots below 30% from the floor, and Boston isn’t able to get traction offensively. Meanwhile, MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson scored 27 points, with 12 rebounds in her return from an injury.

“We’re trying to make those adjustments,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said. “What’s hard is, this is kind of the way we’ve been playing. These guys, Caitlin, Kelsey, they’ve been playing those kind of minutes… you can’t change up a lot, when things have been going a certain way.”

Caitlin Clark, Fever rematch Las Vegas Aces at home Friday, chance for redemption

The good news is, the Fever didn’t stomped by the Aces, the fourth-best team in the league. It certainly could’ve been more deflating in many ways. And while the Aces always maintained their seven-to-nine-point lead, the Fever at least were in striking distance. Prior to Wednesday night’s contest, Sides and Clark said the Fever are treating this “series” as the mock playoffs.

Indiana hosts Las Vegas once more Friday night, hence the series tag. The first round of the playoffs, which begins in about 11 days, is best-of-three. Friday can be viewed as hypothetical elimination. The Aces and Minnesota Lynx — which boast MVP candidates — have made statements by coming into Gainbridge Fieldhouse and bravely snatching wins from the Fever.

Wednesday’s loss was choppy, and it nulled Indiana’s advantageous home sellout crowd.

There’s another interesting barrier.

In three days, how can the Fever treat this Aces back-to-back as the playoffs, if all five of their starters have never made it to the postseason? — notably eight-year veteran Kelsey Mitchell.

“Knowing that it’s the series with the Vegas Aces, it don’t get no better than that. Like, from seeing where you are standpoint,” Mitchell said. “We got a gauge of where we are against the reigning champs… we put ourselves in a position to go back to film, see what we can be better at. As a leader, it’s my job to make sure that we have confidence… we gotta have that going into Friday.”
Indiana gets another shot. And as Sides mentioned, Thursday is for catching up rest-wise from an overtime win mere days ago Sunday — and for adjustments on the court to tie up the series.