Caitlin Clark led Indiana to a blowout win over Minnesota, while the Lynx secured the top playoff seed later that night.
The Indiana Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx 96-77 on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, keeping their hopes alive for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs in a crucial lynx vs fever matchup.
Caitlin Clark led the Indiana Fever with 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals in the team’s final home Fever game of the regular season. Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 points, adding to her WNBA single-season scoring record, while Aliyah Boston helped fuel a fast start. Indiana took control early by outscoring Minnesota 31-16 in the first quarter and built a lead that grew to 29 points. The Lynx answered with 30 points in the third quarter, but they couldn’t cut into the deficit.
The Minnesota Lynx played without rookie guard Olivia Miles, who sat out with a left calf injury. Miles had recently broken Clark’s 2024 rookie scoring record. After the game, Clark said she hopes Miles will be able to play when the two teams meet again.
Even with the 19-point loss, which was Minnesota’s fourth defeat in its last five games and dropped the team to 32-11, the Lynx locked up the No. 1 seed for the WNBA playoffs later Tuesday when the Golden State Valkyries lost to Portland in overtime. The victory lifted Indiana to 28-15, keeping the Fever one game behind the Atlanta Dream for the fourth seed.
Tuesday’s contest was the second meeting between the teams this year, following an August game that produced 208 combined points and became the second-most-watched regular-season game in league history. The two squads play again Thursday night in Minnesota to wrap up the regular season. The playoffs start Sunday, Sept. 27, when the Lynx host Game 1 at Target Center against either the Dallas Wings or New York Liberty.
