The Indiana Fever secured a dramatic 87-85 victory over the Atlanta Dream in College Park, Georgia, on Thursday, clinching their first WNBA playoff series win since 2015. Aliyah Boston scored a go-ahead layup with 7.4 seconds remaining, capping a late comeback that saw the Fever score the final seven points of the game.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 24 points, while Odyssey Sims added 16 and Boston contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds. Natasha Howard scored 12 points and Lexie Hull chipped in 10 for the sixth-seeded Fever, who will face the Las Vegas Aces in the semi-finals after the Aces defeated the Seattle Storm 74-73 in their series-deciding game.
Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 19 points, supported by Jordin Canada's 18 points and 10 assists, Rhyne Howard's 16 points, and Brionna Jones's 12 points. The third-seeded Dream led by eight points late in the third quarter but could not hold off Indiana's rally.
Trailing by two with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter, Brianna Turner's first basket of the game tied the score at 80. Jones answered with a layup, and Rhyne Howard's three-pointer put Atlanta ahead 85-80 with 2:32 remaining. Mitchell and Hull then cut the deficit to one before Sims found Boston for the decisive layup. Hull stole Rhyne Howard's inbound pass, and Sims split a pair of free throws. Jones missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to seal Indiana's victory.
The Fever trailed by seven at halftime but opened the third quarter with an 8-1 run, tying the game at 57 on Boston's layup. Atlanta regained an eight-point lead later in the quarter, but Indiana pulled within four before Canada's layup gave the Dream a 73-69 lead heading into the fourth. Mitchell scored 11 first-quarter points to help Indiana take a 29-27 lead, but Atlanta responded with a strong second quarter to lead 56-49 at halftime.
