Fever Beat Lynx 96–77; Minnesota Clinches No. 1 Seed Despite Loss

The Indiana Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 96–77 on Tuesday night, keeping alive their faint hopes of securing the No. 4 playoff seed and home-court advantage in the first round. Caitlin Clark led the Fever with 27 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell added 20 points to extend her WNBA single-season record to 27 consecutive games with 20 or more points. Aliyah Boston contributed 17 points and seven rebounds for Indiana.

Despite the loss, the Lynx clinched the No. 1 seed after Portland's overtime victory over Golden State on the same evening. Minnesota played without rookie Olivia Miles, who was scratched late due to a left calf injury. Miles had broken Clark's single-season rookie scoring record days earlier against Connecticut. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said the team would monitor Miles's injury day by day heading into the playoffs, which begin Sunday. Chloe Bibby led Minnesota with 15 points, all from three-pointers, while Liatu King added 12 points.

Indiana dominated early, running up a 31–16 lead by the end of the first quarter and extending the margin to 57–28 by halftime. Reeve benched most of her starters for the second half, and Minnesota's backups mounted a comeback, cutting the deficit to 71–64 by the end of the third quarter and 74–66 with 8:15 remaining. However, the Fever pulled away in the final stretch, with baskets from Clark, Mitchell, and Boston securing the win.

Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier criticized the team's performance, telling ESPN: "It's embarrassing. We should be disappointed and embarrassed about the product that we put on the floor tonight. Not proud of what we did." Reeve acknowledged the loss did not reflect the intensity she had called for, but expressed confidence the team would respond when Indiana and Minnesota meet again Thursday in their regular-season finale.

Clark reflected on the Fever's offensive capability, saying: "We're scary when we're clicking. Like, we're the best offensive team in the league, and we've shown moments where we can be really good defensively." The Fever have already clinched their playoff spot and will conclude their regular-season road schedule Thursday at Minnesota.