How to watch Fever at Sparks: Indiana goes for sixth straight win without Caitlin Clark

New York Times

3 days ago

The Indiana Fever's up-and-down 2025 campaign is back up again. It's almost a dizzy bat race at this point. Caitlin Clark is still on the sidelines, but her teammates are balling out, having won five straight games and back-to-back on the road. The Fever hit southern California as the hottest team in the WNBA, but Tuesday's opponents are simmering on their heels. The Los Angeles Sparks are 7-3 in their last 10, buoyed by Cameron Brink's return and a fast-paced scoring balance.
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Kelsey Mitchell is fearless as Indiana's new lead option. She's going to have a few clunkers (3-for-16 Sunday in Seattle, 8-of-24 last month against Las Vegas). She's also going to turn the lights out (at least three 3s in four of her previous six games, and a 35-point gem at Chicago on July 27).
The current road trip has been a good one for Indy's big-name frontcourt. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard both double-doubled in Friday's win at Dallas. Boston followed up with 16 points, 12 rebounds and three steals up in Seattle, while Howard dropped a game-high 21 points on just 12 shots. On the outside, Mitchell's off afternoon was countered by Sophie Cunningham's four treys.
The hosts play with the No. 2 pace in the league, spearheaded by the floor-running Kelsey Plum at point. After an inefficient start to her Sparks stint, Plum has settled into a double-time groove of late. She's averaging 20.6 points. 7.1 assists and 1.5 steals across her last eight games, with fantastic 49.5/42.9/95.2 shooting splits.
Los Angeles is 6-7 overall in clutch spots, defined by the league as the last five minutes of games when the score is within five points. But it is 6-2 in its last eight clutch finishes. That includes a 'Game of the Year' candidate in Friday's double-overtime Storm clash. Dearica Hamby delivered the winning layup, an aggressive Rickea Jackson notched 27 points and Brink had five stocks (steals + blocks) in 12 minutes (!).
Indiana will also have to account for Azurá Stevens, who is in the middle of a career breakthrough in her eighth pro season. Stevens is 40.5 percent behind the arc this year, and she presents all kinds of mismatches at 6-foot-6.
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(Photo of Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald and Kelsey Mitchell: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)