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Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky recap: Caitlin Clark wins showdown with Angel Reese

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Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky recap: Caitlin Clark wins showdown with Angel Reese

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Caitlin Clark hit a big 3, and the game was all but over.

Clark’s 3 with 3:06 to play gave Indiana an 84-77 lead, its largest of the game, and the Fever pulled away 91-83 for its second consecutive win over the Chicago Sky.

Clark led all scorers with 23 points, adding eight rebounds and nine assists, plus two blocks. Her connection with Aliyah Boston (19 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks) was evident Sunday, as the two No. 1 picks worked together beautifully to pick up Indiana’s fifth win of the season.

Though the Sky dominated the boards early, Indiana wound up winning the battle on the glass 38-32. That was at least partially due to foul trouble from Chicago’s Angel Reese, the league’s top offensive rebounder who had to sit for a long stretch in the third quarter. The Sky struggled without Reese on the floor, while the Fever thrived. Reese finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, but shot just 4-of-13 from the floor. Marina Mabrey led Chicago with 22 points.

Indiana also shared the ball well in the win, totaling 23 assists on 35 made field goals. Five Fever players scored nine points or more; besides Clark and Boston, Kelsey Mitchell chipped in 17, NaLyssa Smith had 15 and Katie Lou Samuelson went 3-of-4 from 3 for nine points.

A closer look at the game:

Not that long ago, Caitlin Clark was leading the Indiana Fever in total blocks. She’s clearly trying to own that stat category again.

This game might very well come down to who has the ball last.

Indiana has a 68-66 lead heading into the fourth quarter after the teams traded runs in the third.

The difference could very well come down to turnovers: Through 30 minutes the Fever have thrown the ball away 10 times, which has led to 13 Chicago points. (On the flip side, five Sky turnovers have resulted in just three points for Indiana).

Caitlin Clark continues to stuff the stat sheet; so far the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Draft has 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and one block. She leads Indiana, but two other Fever players have scored in double figures with Kelsey Mitchell (14) and Aliyah Boston (13).

Marina Mabrey has 18 for Chicago, and Chennedy Carter has 14.

Indiana has also closed the gap on the glass; Chicago now leads in rebounding just 30-28.

One way to counter your opponent’s rebounding advantage: Shoot well from beyond the arc.

That’s exactly what the Indiana Fever are doing, connecting on 6-of-12 attempts from 3, giving Indy a 47-43 halftime advantage over Chicago.

The Sky, meanwhile, are dominating the glass, with a 23-17 overall rebounding advantage, including 11 offensive boards (which has resulted in 14 second-chance points).

Caitlin Clark started hot, scoring seven quick points in less than five minutes, and then went quiet until 26 seconds to play in the half when she scored on a nifty reverse layup. She has nine points, four rebounds and four assists. Kelsey Mitchell leads the Fever with 10 points.

For Chicago, Angel Reese is already close to a double-double, with nine points and eight rebounds, and Kamilla Cardoso has grabbed 10 rebounds in less than 17 minutes of play.

Both teams have balanced scoring attacks so far, which means we’re in for an entertaining second half.

The Indiana Fever are 3-of-4 from deep after the first quarter, with Clark, Katie Lou Samuelson and Lexie Hull connecting on 3s. But eight offensive rebounds for Chicago have helped the Sky take a 26-23 lead at the end of the first period.

Chicago’s Chennedy Carter, who started today instead of coming off the bench, leads all scorers with eight points. Clark is next with seven points. She also has two assists and two rebounds.

The craziest stat is this, though: Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso already has seven rebounds. Seven! And we’ve only played 10 minutes.

Caitlin Clark has already scored as many points in less than five minutes as she did all last game. Not bad.

Clark is 3-for-3 with seven points and the Fever have an early 13-8 lead over Chicago with 5:49 to play in the first quarter. Clark is known for her logo 3s, but she’s found a lot of success in the WNBA when she drives to the rim early in games and gets some easier looks to get in a rhythm. That’s exactly what’s happening today. She opened with a nice drive, then hit a 3 (assist to Aliyah Boston for a great screen) and then scored on another drive.

Angel Reese, meanwhile, has two points and two rebounds already.

What time is Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever today? 

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever host the Chicago Sky for a lunchtime game on Sunday at noon ET. The game is at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

How to watch Caitlin Clark and the Fever vs. Sky today?

The Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game will be televised nationally on CBS.

How to stream Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever today

The Fever vs. Sky game is available for streaming on Paramount+, the cbssports.com website (for those who log in with their cable or satellite provider) and on Fubo.

The game will also be available on demand on the WNBA’s League Pass upon its conclusion. Fans can get League Pass by downloading the WNBA app.

Angel Reese, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, tallied eight points and 13 rebounds on June 1 when the Indiana Fever beat the Chicago Sky 71-70.  

The game marked the first professional matchup between Caitlin Clark, Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, who made her WNBA debut after the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Cardoso had 11 points and six rebounds in the loss. – Cydney Henderson 

In the Indiana Fever’s first game against the Chicago Sky on June 1, Caitlin Clark finished the night with 11 points, shooting 4-for-11 from the field and 2-for-9 from 3-point range. Clark also had eight rebounds, six assists, one steal and five turnovers in 37 minutes of play.  

She became the second player in WNBA history to record 150+ points, 50+ rebounds and 50+ assists through their first 10 career games, joining the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu. – Cydney Henderson 

The Fever scored their second win of the 2024 WNBA season and their first home win on June 1 when they beat the Sky 71-70 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. And things got testy. 

With 15.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter as the Fever led 53-49, Chicago’s Chennedy Carter blindsided Clark and shoulder checked her from behind as Aliyah Boston was trying to inbound the ball to Clark. Only a common, away from the play foul was called on Carter at the time, drawing disbelief from the Fever and the TV broadcasters and igniting major controversy on social media. The next day, the WNBA upgraded Carter’s foul to a Flagrant 1 after league review. – Cydney Henderson 

Reese had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, but her Chicago Sky fell to the last-place Washington Mystics 83-81. The seventh overall pick struggled from the field (3-for-10) but did hit all four of her free throws. She added two assists and a steal.  

Caitlin Clark finished with as many points (7) as turnovers (7) in the Indiana Fever’s 91-84 win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday. She shot just 3-for-11 from the field, including 1-for-6 on 3-pointers, and had four rebounds and six assists. One of those turnovers came at a pivotal time. The Fever were up 85-82 with less than one minute remaining in the contest when Clark threw a pass behind teammate Kelsey Mitchell, resulting in a steal from the Dream’s Cheyenne Parker-Tyus … who threw an errant pass and instantly turned it back over to Mitchell, who laid it up to extend the Fever’s lead to 87-82 with 47 seconds left. 

Angel Reese has played 12 games so far in the 2024 WNBA season, through June 14, and has started each one. 

Reese is averaging 12.2 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and a team-high 1.8 steals per game. Reese is shooting 37.8% from the field and 74.6% from the free throw line, while adding 1.8 assists per game. 

Caitlin Clark has played 14 games so far in the 2024 WNBA season, through June 13, and has started each one.  

Clark is averaging a team-high 15.6 points and a team-high 6.0 assists along with 4.9 rebounds per game. Clark is shooting 36.7% from the field, 32.2% from 3-point range and 89.7% from the free throw line. She also leads the Fever steals (1.4), turnovers (5.5) and minutes per game (32.7). 

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