INDIANAPOLIS — “All of us we bought. All of us we want.”
It’s the phrase Kelsey Mitchell started sharing earlier this season together with her Fever teammates in practices, the locker room and crew huddles as accidents mounted. It grew to become a crew motto and a rallying cry of types as they pushed for the playoffs late within the season.
It was even adopted into the pregame hype video earlier than Recreation 2 in opposition to Atlanta on Tuesday. And as soon as the sport began, it grew to become the right abstract of Indiana combating off elimination.
After dropping Recreation 1 on Sunday within the best-of-three collection, the Fever’s backs had been firmly in opposition to the wall. However again in Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a playoff sport for the primary time since 2015 and emboldened by a crowd prepared for the second, Indiana bounced again with a wire-to-wire win over the Dream, 77-60.
“I felt good about the truth that we responded after we had been presupposed to,” Kelsey Mitchell, who had a game-high 19 factors, mentioned. “We got here proper off the bat and took care of enterprise so far as the place we lacked from the primary sport to the second sport. That was a extremely large optimistic for us and small victories are large for us.”
Indiana has had its again in opposition to the wall lots all through this yr, particularly as they fought for a playoff spot within the closing month of the season. However Tuesday was the largest stakes they’ve confronted but. In a win-or-go-home situation, the Fever seemed able to do every part attainable to increase their season from the opening leap.
They spent the sport making life depressing for the Dream offense, the most effective within the league within the common season, holding them to 37.9% capturing general and simply 5-19 (26.3%) capturing from vary with most of these makes coming in rubbish time.
In addition they closed the hole in quite a lot of smaller areas, too, like successful the factors within the paint battle after shedding it on Sunday, outscoring the Dream on second-chance factors and narrowly outscoring Atlanta in quick break factors after narrowly being outscored in Recreation 1.
Add all that up and it got here out to Indiana flipping the script and selecting up a memorable win.
“We had been getting the hustle performs, getting on the ground after free balls,” head coach Stephanie White mentioned. “It was ending defensive performs, ensuring that we boxed out after which we bought the ball. It’s setting screens, utilizing screens to present us alternatives on the offensive finish. Speaking and our level of display protection on the defensive finish.
“We took care of these issues. You’re going to have your moments in video games, however if you proceed to have extra moments the place you might be executing and have extra moments the place you might be taking part in with a number of ranges of effort, good issues often occur and our group was in a position to try this.”
As a lot because the Fever did these little issues with the intention to attempt to create a bonus, a sluggish begin to the third quarter noticed them lead by simply three whereas going scoreless for over three minutes. However within the defining stretch of the sport, Indiana went on a 19-7 run to finish the quarter and blow the sport open, capped off with one of many highlights of the season.
After an Aliyah Boston layup late within the body, Mitchell stole the following inbound move after Shey Peddy tipped the ball free. The Fever would shortly swing the ball across the perimeter to an open Lexie Hull, who drilled the 3-pointer simply earlier than the buzzer, giving Indiana a 59-44 lead heading into the fourth.
“That was nice for us. That significantly was,” Boston mentioned of the sequence. “Scoring the ball after which getting that tip after which Lexi hitting that three, I imply the vitality, everybody felt it. The group was going loopy and we simply used that momentum into the fourth.”
Indiana ensured there can be no fourth quarter comeback as Makayla Timpson opened the interval with a three-point play earlier than Boston made one other layup, making it a 20-point result in pressure a Dream timeout, successfully ending any doubt within the closing consequence.
It was a victory that the Fever achieved by means of the identical kind of combating and clawing that bought them thus far. Emblematic of that was Aerial Powers, who was signed late within the common season.
The ahead performed 17 minutes and scored simply three factors, however made quite a lot of hustle performs that ignited the gang all through. Her one made subject objective was a three-point play within the first half that was met with the roar of the followers, apropos for the impression she had on the night time.
“She [gives] off a lot vitality and he or she all the time has loads of vitality,” Boston mentioned of Powers. “I like after I see her hype up the gang. Everybody will get concerned. However I believe [Powers], simply what she brings to us, that aggression, simply getting after free balls, it’s nice.”
It’s the identification the Fever have adopted this season. New gamers stepping in and exhibiting out all year long. Seemingly irrespective of who’s been requested to step up, they’ve answered the bell. It’s all they’ve had and it’s all they’ve wanted.
Brianna Turner, who was out of the rotation for a lot of the season earlier than getting into it late within the yr, performed 20 minutes off the bench and grabbed six rebounds with two steals. Peddy, who was didn’t be part of the crew till Aug. 22, was a +16 in 23 minutes as a reserve. Within the final common assembly between the Fever and Dream, none of Timpson, Powers, Turner or Peddy performed and two of these gamers weren’t even signed to the crew.
On Tuesday, these 4 — paired with sturdy performances from the mainstay starters in Hull, Mitchell, Boston and Natasha Howard — performed roles within the Fever successful their first house playoff sport for the reason that 2015 WNBA Finals. And it’s how they’re now getting ready to an unbelievable playoff collection win as that they had again to Atlanta for Recreation 3 on Thursday.
“This was tremendous large for us,” Boston mentioned. “Our backs had been undoubtedly in opposition to the wall on this and we all know that we’ve simply been by means of a lot this season that popping out with this win after which giving ourselves one other probability in Recreation 3, feelings are excessive.”
