Indiana Fever wins 4th in a row, Caitlin Clark gets 100 assists

ATLANTA — The Indiana Fever’s revival continued with a fourth straight victory Friday night, defeating the Atlanta Dream, 91-79, at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta on Friday night.

The Fever (7-10) have won four in a row for the first time since 2015 and have won six of their last eight games.

Here are three observations:

Insider: Fever hasn’t lost since Christie Sides benched four starters 2 weeks ago. What changed?

Caitlin Clark hears cheers everywhere. “Other than the IU fans, they’re pretty crazy.”

Fever wins four straight matches for the first time since 2015

On Friday, with three straight wins under their belt, the Fever needed just one more to cross the nine-year mark. In front of a sold-out crowd of 17,575 at State Farm Arena, they got it.

The Fever have now won four straight for the first time since Tamika Catchings was an active player and Stephanie White was Indiana’s coach. This was the last year the Fever advanced to the WNBA Finals as the No. 3 seed in the East, falling to the Minnesota Lynx.

The fever rises, then maintains the advance

Indiana’s first half was shaping up to be very similar to last week’s game against the Dream in Indianapolis. Indiana took a strong lead Friday night in Atlanta, leading 57-41 at halftime.

Last week, Indiana led by 15 points, 49-44, at halftime – and they almost let the lead slip away. The Dream fought back, led by All-Star Rhyne Howard, to lead the Fever into the fourth quarter and nearly steal the victory. It took Aliyah Boston’s 27 career points (10 in the fourth) for Fever to win.

This time, Indiana didn’t let that happen. With Howard injured in his ankle, the Fever stayed away from the Dream throughout the match. Atlanta got as close as nine points at one point in the third quarter, but the Fever then went on an 11-3 run to put the game away.

Four starters – Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith – each scored in double figures for the third straight game, and fellow starter Kristy Wallace added seven points.

Smith led the Fever with 21 points, while Boston finished with a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds).

Caitlin Clark eclipses 100 assists

Fever rookie Caitlin Clark is in good company.

Her first assist on Friday night, Clark eclipsed 100 this season in just 17 games, tying her for third-fastest in WNBA history with Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird. That assist came just seconds into the game – Clark passed the ball to Kelsey Mitchell, who easily scored a layup.

The Fever recruit has always maintained that her passing is an underrated part of her game. The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer is known for her 3-pointers and fluid baskets, but she has also elite vision on the pitch.

These passes also carry risks – Clark specializes in behind-the-back, no-look and cross-field passes, and these passes take time to learn with new teammates. Clark currently averages 5.5 turnovers per game and leads the league with 88, but those in-game turnovers have decreased as Clark has learned her teammates and her teammates have learned her style.

Clark finished Friday’s game with seven turnovers against seven assists.