Aliyah Boston scored a go-ahead layup with 7.4 seconds left to propel the visiting Indiana Fever to an 87-85 victory over the Atlanta Dream in College Park, Ga., on Thursday, clinching the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2015.
The sixth-seeded Fever scored the game’s final seven points to steal the best-of-three series after losing Game 1. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 24 points while Odyssey Sims scored 16 and Boston chipped in 14 points and 12 boards. Natasha Howard had 12 points and Lexie Hull added 10 for the Fever, who will take on the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals for a berth in the WNBA Finals after the Aces escaped with a 74-73 win over the Seattle Storm Thursday night.
Allisha Gray’s 19 points led Atlanta, followed by Jordin Canada’s 18 points and 10 assists, and Rhyne Howard’s 16 points. Brionna Jones scored 12 for the third-seeded Dream, who led by eight late in the third quarter.
With Indiana trailing by two, Brianna Turner’s first basket of the game tied the game at 80 with 3:21 left in the fourth. Jones answered with a layup before Rhyne Howard’s 3-pointer put the Dream ahead 85-80 with 2:32 remaining.
Mitchell and Hull then cut Indiana’s deficit to one. After Rhyne Howard’s missed triple, Sims found an open Boston under the basket for the unmolested layup. Hull then stole Rhyne Howard’s ensuing inbound pass, Sims split a pair of free throws and Jones missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
After trailing by seven at halftime, the Fever began the second half on an 8-1 run, stamped with Boston’s layup to tie the score at 57 with 6:23 left in the third.
Later in the quarter, Sims’ free throws pulled Indiana within four before Rhyne Howard’s back-to-back baskets gave Atlanta an eight-point cushion with 3:28 remaining. After an 8-2 Indiana spurt, Canada’s layup sent the Dream into the fourth with a 73-69 lead.
Mitchell led all scorers with 11 first-quarter points to help the Fever take a 29-27 lead into the second.
After Hull’s jumper knotted the score at 37, Brittney Griner’s three-point play capped Atlanta’s 9-3 run to give the Dream a 46-40 edge with 3:47 left in the first half.
Hull later split a pair of free throws to cut Indiana’s deficit to two before Jones and Rhyne Howard each connected on a triple to give Atlanta its largest lead of the first half at 54-46. Canada’s layup closed the first-half scoring, giving the Dream a 56-49 edge heading into halftime.
–Field Level Media
