Indiana Blows Past Minnesota, but Portland Hands the Lynx #1 Anyway

Indiana turned a meeting with the league leaders into a rout almost immediately. The Fever closed the first quarter on a 14-2 run, led 31-16 after one and stretched the margin to 29 before halftime on the way to a 96-77 win over Minnesota. Caitlin Clark finished with 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals, while Aliyah Boston added 17. The Lynx were without Olivia Miles because of a left-calf injury, and Cheryl Reeve went deep into her bench with the game getting away early. Minnesota’s reserves eventually cut the deficit to seven late in the third, but Indiana responded and denied the Lynx a chance to clinch the #1 seed themselves.

Kelsey Mitchell added another line to her record book in the process. A late three pushed her to 20 points and extended her WNBA-record streak to 27 consecutive 20-point games as Indiana improved to 28-15. The Fever now get an immediate rematch in Minnesota on Thursday to close the regular season, but by then the biggest prize will already belong to the Lynx.