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The Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever locked horns during Sunday's blockbuster slate at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. The Fever were off to a 5-0 start, with Aliyah Boston getting to the line on the first play, followed by a Caitlin Clark 3. Meanwhile, Tina Charles opened the scoring for the Dream from the mid-range.
The teams went back and forth, with multiple leads exchanged until the first timeout with 4:25 left. The Dream led 12-10 at that stage. The Fever's offense looked shaky, but Kelsey Mitchell kept them in the game, going 4 of 5 to score 10 points.
Meanwhile, Boston made two of her first three shots, scoring six points in the first quarter, which ended 21-20 in favor of Indiana. Tina Charles led the Dream in scoring with six points, while Rhyne Howard had five.
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The second quarter was similar to the first, with little to separate the teams. Both teams couldn't seem to miss their shots. The Dream held a 32-30 lead heading into the first timeout of the second quarter with 5:53 left.
Coming out of the timeout, the Fever looked like the inferior team, struggling to take care of the ball. They had two more turnovers, taking their total to eight on the night, prompting coach Christie Sides to call a timeout within 51 seconds of the previous one.
Lexie Hull knocked down her second and third 3 of the night after the timeout to trim the Dream's lead to one point (39-38). Indiana continued relying on everyone to step up, with Clark struggling to get going throughout the first half.
NaLyssa Smith and Hull, in particular, stepped up and helped Indiana's offense stay afloat.
The first half ended 48-44 in the Dream's favor. The Fever had 13 turnovers, overshadowing their impeccable 60.7% shooting display in the first two quarters.
The Dream began the second half on an 8-0 run to go up 56-44. Howard hit the last five with little resistance from the Fever's defense, which didn't seem as engaged. The Fever's first bucket came from a Caitlin Clark layup, but Howard again hit a shot on the other end, giving Atlanta a 13-point lead.
The Dream shortly extended their advantage to 64-48, taking their largest lead of the contest.
Indiana picked up momentum behind Kelsey Mitchell's back-to-back successful possessions on both ends as she knocked down a shot over Rhyne Howard and got a stop on her.
That sparked the Fever's 8-0 run, trimming the Dream's lead to 64-56 with 2:10 left in the third. Indiana kept chipping away with six points from Clark after that stage and four from Boston to cut the gap to 69-66.
The Fever tied the contest for the first time (69-69) after the second quarter with a Caitlin Clark 3 to begin the fourth. The Fever increased their pace, and with Clark heating up, they were in the hunt to retain the lead.
However, Rhyne Howard ensured that wasn't the case. She hit timely buckets to keep Atlanta in the lead despite Indiana tying things up on multiple occasions.
The Fever got desperate and launched a few early shots into the clock, which they failed to make. Their defense couldn't hold things together, either. The Dream capitalized on it and took a nine-point lead (84-75) quickly, forcing Sides to call her first timeout of the fourth quarter with 5:17 left.
The Fever came out swinging out of the TO and went on a 13-2 run to tie the game with 1:58 left. Canada restored a two-point lead before Fagbenle leveled things up with 1:30 left.
The game came down to a one-point possession with 27 seconds to go as Howard nailed two free throws after getting fouled by Fagbenle. Boston tied the game with an excellent DHO fake. The Dream had the chance to win it at the buzzer, but Alisha Gray missed the midrange shot from the corner, seeing the game go into overtime tied 90-90.
The Fever looked like the better team starting overtime, but the Dream kept making shots, too. Neither team was able to create a significant separation to get ahead. The Fever finally got the chance to get ahead with 23.9 seconds left.
Indiana was up by two, and Caitlin Clark got fouled by the Dream without any fouls to give. The Fever's star rookie nailed both FTs to give her team a four-point lead with 23 seconds left.
Clark went to the line again with 4.5 seconds left and extended the Fever's lead to five points, closing the deal for Indiana as it came back from 16 down to win 104-100 OT.
Aliyah Boston dropped 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, while Caitlin Clark finished with 26 points, five rebounds and 12 assists. Kelsey Mitchell had 21 points on 50.0% shooting.
Meanwhile, the Fever got a game-high 36 points from Rhyne Howard, while Tina Charles, Jordin Canada and Alisha Gray had 15+ points.
Editor's note: This article was written live.
Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever Player Stats and Box Scores for September 8
Atlanta Dream player stats and box scores
Indiana Fever player stats and box scores
Editor's note: The full box score will be updated after the game.
Also read- Caitlin Clark Stats Tonight: How did Indiana Fever rookie fare against Atlanta Dream?
