Fever avoid playoff elimination, force deciding Game 5 vs. Aces

INDIANAPOLIS — The Fever have found themselves with their backs against the wall time and again this season, including Sunday in Game 4 against the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces, Indiana’s third time facing elimination this postseason.

But the stakes don’t seem to faze them — in fact, as Fever coach Stephanie White said afterward, “it’s when we’ve been at our best.”

The No. 6 seed Fever rallied from two consecutive losses to win 90-83 in Game 4 and force a series-deciding Game 5 on Tuesday in Las Vegas (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Short-handed Indiana, which has been without star Caitlin Clark and five other players because of injuries, continues to beat the odds as it immediately finds itself one win away from the WNBA Finals. The Fever have won four games as underdogs this postseason, the most by any team since the 2021 Chicago Sky (who went on to win the championship), and their three wins in elimination games are the most by any team in a single postseason since the 2022 Connecticut Sun.

“The desperation and the urgency that we play with when we’re in those positions has been exactly what we need,” White said. “And we’ve just got to bottle that up and take it with us. It’s a one-game season right immediately, and we’ve got to carry it all over, and we’ve got to be better.”

After a tough Game 3 loss in which the Fever faltered in the fourth quarter, Indiana led for nearly 35 minutes Sunday, using an 11-2 run to go into halftime up 46-38. Then, a big second half from center Aliyah Boston helped ward off any Las Vegas comeback attempt.

Boston compiled 17 points and nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes, shooting 11 free throws in the third quarter. Her 24 total points marked a playoff career high. She joined franchise legend Tamika Catchings as the only Fever players to record 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a playoff game.

“We’ve watched a lot of film,” Boston said of her big game, “and I think for me, just working on my positioning, trying to get earlier seals, that was the focus for me tonight.”

The Fever were buoyed by strong efforts from guards Kelsey Mitchell (25 points) and Odyssey Sims (18); those two plus Boston combined for 67 points.

“I think we were the aggressor,” White said. “And usually when we’re aggressive and we move the ball, good things happen for us. We attacked, we played with a sense of urgency. We made the right reads and the right plays.”

Added Sims: “We knew today was a must-win. Our backs were against the wall, so we had to come out with a little bit more fire than we did on [Friday], not play relaxed and especially not let them go on big runs. I think we did a great job today when they did go on their runs, we minimized them, and we were aggressive defensively.”

The Aces — who are nearing a third Finals appearance in four years — were propelled by four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson (31 points), the only player in league history to record a stat line of at least 30 points, 3 steals and 3 blocks in a playoff game (and she has done it twice).

But Las Vegas turned the ball over 17 times, which became 25 points for Indiana, and was displeased with its defense.

“We know what we’re supposed to be doing for sure,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “This is Game 4, but you still have to come out there, and our pickup points always tell me kind of where we’re going to be at, and they were not good.”

The Aces got to within two points in the fourth quarter, but the Fever held steady. A Mitchell jumper through contact with a minute remaining put Indiana up seven and sent the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd to its feet. With about 30 seconds left, the Aces were assessed a technical foul after Hammon took an excessive timeout, and Mitchell converted a free throw to put the Fever back ahead by eight.

“A good old-fashioned mistake,” Hammon said of the incident. “We have to be sharper there for sure.”

The Aces indicated they were not happy with the officiating, as the Fever shot 34 free throws to their 11.

When Wilson pointed out it was “interesting” that four of her teammates had four or five fouls, Hammon responded, “By interesting, you mean that’s s—?”

“I did appreciate it was a little tighter call,” Hammon said, “but tighter on both ends would have been nice.”