Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever avoided a first-round sweep on Tuesday evening, tying up the series at one apiece after a 99-89 win over Jackie Young and the Las Vegas Aces in Game 2. Now, the Fever will look to advance to the semifinals for a second straight season, facing the Aces in a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Thursday.
Clark had arguably the best game of her playoff career in Game 2 against Las Vegas. The former Iowa Hawkeyes point guard tallied a team-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting, seven rebounds and 15 assists in 33 minutes of action, while Kelsey Mitchell added 26 points and Aliyah Boston notched 22.
Even crazier is that Clark did this despite not playing the final few minutes of Game 2, picking up her sixth personal with roughly three minutes left in the fourth and fouling out.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
Despite not playing the full game, Clark was still able to accomplish something no other player in WNBA history has. The Fever star became the first player ever to record 25 or more points and 15 or more assists in a single WNBA playoffs game.
In fact, Clark is just the third player in league history to record 15 or more assists in a single playoff game as well. Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird became the first to achieve this feat back in 2020, while Chicago Sky great Courtney Vandersloot reached 15 assists twice in the 2021 playoffs, including a record 18 in the first round.
“first player to record 25+ PTS & 15+ AST in a game in WNBA playoff history 🌟 go off CC 😤,” the Fever wrote on X.
Clark and the Fever will face the Aces in Game 3 on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET for a spot in the semifinals, where they will face the winner of the No. 2 seed Golden State Valkyries and No. 7 seed Dallas Wings.
