The Indiana Fever were crushed 102-85 by the Las Vegas Aces as Caitlin Clark struggled from the field.
The Fever, who were coming off a 20-point thumping win over the Minnesota Lynx in their regular-season finale, couldn’t keep the momentum.
The Aces routed the Fever in the playoff opener of their best-of-three first-round series with 17 points.
Las Vegas created a 27-point lead from the very start of the game, leaving the Indy scramble to stay in the game for almost the entire second half.
The headline star of the night was A’ja Wilson, who was literally unstoppable on both ends of the court as she scored 38 points and 16 rebounds.
The Fever lacked a disciplined playoff defense in the opening game of the best-of-three series.
The Fever guard, Clark, scored a double-double only through her own skillset, posting 15 points, 10 assists, and three rebounds.
But Las Vegas kept the pressure on her, throwing off shooting rhythm all game.
That resulted in Clark attempting just 6 of 18 shots, including 3 from deep, while going with six turnovers and picking up five fouls.
While Kelsey Mitchell also struggled to find her rhythm and finished with 12 points and three assists, shooting just 4 of 16 shots from the field.
Game 2 of the playoff series is a home game scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Fever are now in a do-or-die situation to defend their home court in order to keep their season hopes alive and take the series to a Game 3.
2026-09-28 17:34:00
