Updates, results, analysis, Clark injury update

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The Indiana Fever are perhaps playing their best basketball of the season, having won three in a row with the Los Angeles Sparks coming to town on Saturday.

All three of those victories, including a win in the Commissioner’s Cup against Minnesota, have been without All-WNBA guard Caitlin Clark, who will miss her fifth straight game due to a groin injury.

The Fever’s recent success has been due to their work on the defensive end, holding opponents to a league-low 27% percent from the 3-point line. In their last game, an 81-54 rout over Las Vegas on Thursday, the Aces had their 16-game winning streak against Indiana snapped after being held to 26% shooting.

The Sparks (5-13) are led by veteran guard Kelsey Plum, who is averaging 20.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. The last time the two teams played was on June 26 in Indianapolis, with Los Angeles winning 85-75.

Aliyah Boston shot 6-of-10 from the field while finishing the first half with 13 points, seven rebounds and a block. Natasha Howard added eight points and five rebounds for the Fever.

“We have to be a lot more disciplined on the defensive end,” Boston said during a halftime interview on NBA TV. “They’re getting some pretty clean looks. They’ve gotten some second-chance points. So we have to make sure we clean that up.”

Kelsey Plum had a team-high 11 points for the Sparks. Azura Stevens had nine points and six rebounds in the first half but was limited to just two points in the second quarter.

Aliyah Boston had seven points and five rebounds for Indiana in the opening period against Los Angeles. Kelsey Mitchell added eight points. Both women played all 10 minutes in the quarter.

Azura Stevens led the Sparks with seven points and four rebounds in eight minutes of play. Dearica Hamby added six points, two rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark missed her fifth consecutive game due to a left groin injury on Saturday.

It’s the 10th game that Clark has missed this season, including the Fever’s 74-59 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final on July 1.

The Fever have remained competitive without Clark, winning the last three games that followed a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on June 26.

Clark has begun to work her way back by participating in drills and was spotted sitting on the bench during the game on Saturday.

Fever coach Stephanie White indicated that Clark would ideally be back in the lineup to play when she wouldn’t need to be on a minutes restriction.

Guard Kelsey Mitchell, guard Aari McDonald, guard Lexie Hull, forward Natasha Howard and forward-center Aliyah Boston make up the starting lineup on Saturday.

Guard Julie Allemand, guard Kelsey Plum, forward Rickea Jackson, forward Dearica Hamby and forward-center Azura Stevens will start against the Fever tonight.