DALLAS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell had 23 points, Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard had double-doubles and the Indiana Fever beat the Dallas Wings 88-78 on Friday night for their season-high fourth-straight win despite playing without Caitlin Clark for the sixth straight game.
The game was moved to American Airlines Center in anticipation of a Clark-Paige Bueckers showdown but Clark missed her 15th game overall and the Fever improved to 8-7 without her. Bueckers did not disappoint the crowd of 17,857 — second-highest in Dallas history — with 22 points, her 12th 20-point game as she increased her WNBA record for double-figure games to start a career to 23 games.
Boston had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Howard 11 points and a career-high tying 16 rebounds and both had five assists for the Fever (16-12), who are 3-0 against the Wings. Aari McDonald also had 12 points.
Bueckers was the only player in double figures for the Wings (8-21). Arike Ogunbowale had eight points and did not play in the fourth quarter.
Indiana, which tied a season high with 19 turnovers, had 12 3-pointers while Dallas didn’t hit one until the fourth quarter and finished 2 for 15. The Wings went 24 for 25 from the foul line for a 14-point advantage but the Fever were a plus-14 on the boards, plus-10 on the offensive end.
With a 9-0 burst in the second quarter the Fever pulled away from a 22-22 tie at the end of the first quarter to lead 48-42 at the half.
The Fever upped the lead to 70-57 after three quarters. Dallas cut it to 75-69 in the middle of the fourth quarter but Indiana scored the next five to all but seal it.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
