Dream fall to Fever as Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark lead Indiana to victory

The Atlanta Dream couldn't slow down Kelsey Mitchell on Thursday night. Mitchell scored 25 points and helped lead the Indiana Fever to an 83-71 win in Indianapolis, dropping Atlanta to 6-3 on the season.

Mitchell was the story of the game, taking over in the third quarter when Indiana needed her most. After Atlanta had clawed back to tie the game and briefly take the lead, Mitchell went on a personal run that broke the game open, scoring bucket after bucket, including back-to-back step-back jumpers, to push Indiana's lead to double digits and keep the Dream from mounting a comeback.

"I give Kelsey a lot of credit," Dream head coach Karl Smesko said. "She made some tough shots, she made some step backs, and she's really hard to stay in front of. It seemed like every time they needed a big basket, she was there for them."

Caitlin Clark added 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Indiana, and Aliyah Boston finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. The Fever shot 48% from the field and 44% from three-point range — a shooting performance Atlanta simply could not match.

For Atlanta, Allisha Gray led the Dream with 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon each added 13 points, with Canada dishing out seven assists. Angel Reese recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Rhyne Howard was held to just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, a far cry from her recent dominance, as Indiana made a concerted effort to limit her attempts.

"We definitely want Rhy more involved offensively," Smesko said. "They obviously were keyed in on her and trying to limit her shot attempts. That's why we have to be better with ball movement and screening so that we're still able to get her some advantages."

Hillmon also reached a career milestone Thursday night, eclipsing 1,000 career WNBA points in the first half. Canada offered a heartfelt assessment of her teammate's growth after the game.

"Naz is the glue to our team," Canada said. "She's that sounding board that we need and she keeps everybody together. Just being confident in her shot, being that leader. She does the little things for our team, whether it's hustle plays, 50-50 balls, box outs or guarding the best post players. She does it all for us."

The game's central issue for Atlanta was ball movement, or the lack of it. The Dream shot just 34% from the field and 29% from three-point range, struggling to generate quality looks throughout the night. Smesko was direct about the problem after the game.

"We're dribbling too much, the ball's moving too little, and the quality of our screening is just not very good right now," Smesko said. "We have to start working together to create better shots instead of just relying on one-on-one play."

Canada echoed her coach's assessment, putting the blame squarely on the Dream themselves.

"Honestly, I think it was us. It wasn't anything that Indiana did," Canada said. "We were just stopping and staring past the ball and watching someone go one on one the whole time, not really creating movement. We were forcing a lot of bad shots. We did it to ourselves."

Atlanta led 15-12 after the first quarter and tied the game multiple times in the second half, but Indiana's runs proved too much to overcome. The Fever opened the third quarter with a decisive stretch that included a run of 18-3, powered largely by Mitchell, that proved to be the game's defining sequence. The Dream started that same third quarter on a 9-2 run of their own but could not sustain it.

Smesko said the Dream's offensive struggles affected their energy on the defensive end as well.

"When you're not shooting it well, or you don't finish around the rim well, you let it affect other parts of the game," he said. "That's something you can't afford to do. When you're not making shots, you can't have those letdowns, all of a sudden it's a big run."

Hillmon said the message in the locker room after the loss was simple.

"We just have to get better," Hillmon said. "It wasn't one of those games where we say the ball just didn't bounce our way. There are a lot of things that could be figured out between tonight and our next game to make sure we get these wins."

Atlanta faces a grueling stretch ahead, with three games in five days beginning Saturday against Washington.