Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 and joined the WNBA's 5,000-point club as the Indiana Fever beat the Atlanta Dream 83-71 in their Commissioner's Cup opener.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 11 straight points during a third-quarter run and finished with 25 to lead the Indiana Fever past the Atlanta Dream 83-71 on Thursday night before 17,002 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in both teams' Commissioner's Cup opener.
Mitchell made 11 of 15 from the field and joined the WNBA's 5,000-point club with the performance. The defending Commissioner's Cup champions improved to 5-4.
Aliyah Boston added 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, and Caitlin Clark had 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Boston made 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
The Fever held a team meeting Monday. The gathering followed questions about a sideline exchange between Clark and coach Stephanie White during last weekend's loss at Portland.
The teams were tied at 15 after one quarter. Indiana then scored 23 points in the second to lead 38-29 at the break. Atlanta opened the second half strong and went ahead 43-42 on Naz Hillmon's 3-pointer with 6:15 left in the third.
White called timeout. After the break, Boston blocked a shot that led to a basket, and Clark hit her second 3-pointer to make it 47-43. Mitchell then turned a Lexie Hull block into a layup, the start of her 11-point run. The flurry stretched the lead to 58-43. Indiana led by as many as 15 and was not seriously threatened in the fourth quarter, when it outscored Atlanta 21-20.
The Fever entered the game allowing 89 points per game. They held Atlanta to a season low. The Dream were the team Indiana eliminated from last year's playoffs.
Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada each scored 13 points for Atlanta (6-3), and Canada added seven assists. Hillmon had 12 points, and Angel Reese, Clark's college rival, finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Rhyne Howard, one of the league's top scorers, went 2 of 9 for eight points.
The Dream shot 34.3% from the field and made just 6 of 21 from 3-point range. They turned the ball over 14 times and scored 10 second-chance points to Indiana's five.
Indiana shot 47.6% and made 11 of 25 from 3-point range. Sophie Cunningham added eight points off the bench, and Raven Johnson had five points and three assists. Madina Okot scored seven for Atlanta.
Atlanta played without Brionna Jones, who has a right knee injury. She remains without a clear timetable for a return.
Atlanta hosts Washington on Saturday. Indiana is at New York on Saturday.
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