The Portland Fire played hard on Friday night but were outpaced by the Indiana Fever 112-98 in heated WNBA action. Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was electric, recording a triple-double in a dominating performance. Shooting guard Bridget Carleton led the way for the Fire with 26 points, while Carla Leite had 12 assists in the loss. Both Clark and Kelsey Mitchell matched Carleton with 26 points for the Fever.
Having faced Indiana twice this season, the battle lines were pretty clear in this one. The Fire would try to give Clark no room to breathe, hoping to hold her to single digits like they did in a previous meeting. Indiana looked for a big game inside from Aliyah Boston. Portland would need to shoot well from outside and generate turnovers to compensate.
Things started out pretty well for the Fire. They made Clark’s life difficult, forcing her off the three-point line into contested shots in the paint. Give Clark credit though, she would not be denied, scoring via penetration and then eventually lighting the torch from ridiculous distance. Clark finished with 17 in the half.
In a similar way, the Fire passed the eye test against Boston, really making her work for her points. Work she did tough, earning 10 points in the half.
Portland excelled from deep, keeping the game tight for much of the first half. The Fire were at or above 60% from beyond the arc for most of the half, although they tailed off to enter halftime at a still-excellent 53.8%. The biggest problem for Portland was turnovers, especially towards the end of the second quarter. Portland had a one-point lead as late as 5:03 left in the half, but Indiana finished on a 21-7 run to take a nine point edge at the horn.
Unfortunately for the Fire, Indiana came out of intermission flying. Just over three minutes into the second half the Fever built the lead to fifteen. Nyadiew Puoch had drawn the main assignment of guarding Clark, but the Indiana star was taking it to her. When Puoch got her fifth foul with not even five minutes expired in the third quarter, it was bad news for the Fire. Portland tried to stay in touch from distance, but they couldn’t connect enough of them, even though they finished the game with an excellent 45.2%.
Indiana led by as many as 20, but the Fire had one last push left in them. An electric late-fourth-quarter run saw the Fire cut the lead from 20 to 7. The Fever were able to regroup and close this one out, but the Fire’s fight gave the home crowd something to remember in a loud and exciting run that posed a lot of questions. Indiana had the answers though.
Here’s what else we noticed.
Caitlin Clark Was Tremendous
Block out all of the noise, because Clark was just terrific tonight. It wasn’t all about her shooting. Three specific areas where she really excelled were assists, rebounds, and drawing fouls. Clark had 10 assists, including some really special ones that completely unlocked the Fire defense for a layup. She attempted 17 free throws, 8 more than any other player on the court. Other teams have had success hunting Clark, including the Fire in their previous matchup in Portland. Tonight she was predator, not prey. Adding insult to injury, Clark pulled down 10 rebounds, a number Portland couldn’t afford. Clark put in a tremendous all-around performance, earning triple-double in the process.
Second Chance Points
16 to 7 for the Fever. That’s way too many for the Fire to give themselves a realistic change.
Bridget Carleton
When Portland made a last-gasp push to make a game of it midway through the fourth quarter, it was Carleton who led the way. A few made threes can shift momentum in a hurry, and Carleton did her part to with some bombs to give Indiana pause. The Fever were able to keep the Fire at bay, but take nothing away from Carleton. She finished with 27 points and 7 made three pointers.
Fastbreak Points
When the Fever were mounting their large lead, they were dominating this category 14-2. Give the Fire credit for turning this around somewhat in the fourth quarter. It ended 14-8, not great by any means but they made improvements stopping the leak outs and getting some for themselves. This really feels like an area where there is more potential for the Fire to improve as the season winds down.
Just a Bad Time fo Face the Fever
Indiana looked like confident team playing really good basketball. When your best player is playing lights out, it makes everyone’s job easier. It’s not just Clark though, this Fever team looks so much more dialed-in and confident than they looked in the previous two meetings. Unlike earlier in the season, the Fever are showing signs that they might be up for making some noise in the postseason.
Up Next
The Fire are back in action at 12:30 PM PDT on Sunday against the LA Sparks.