Fever wins 4th straight, Caitlin Clark 3rd-fastest in WNBA history to reach 100 assists

ATLANTA — The Indiana Fever renaissance continues with a fourth-straight win Friday night, taking down the Atlanta Dream, 91-79, at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta on Friday night.

The Fever (7-10) have won four straight for the first time since 2015, and have won six of their past eight games.

Here are three observations:

Insider: Fever haven’t lost since Christie Sides benched four starters 2 weeks ago. What changed?

Caitlin Clark hears cheers everywhere. ‘Other than the IU fans, they’re pretty crazy.’

Fever win four straight games for first time since 2015

On Friday, with three straight wins under their belt, the Fever needed just one more to break a nine-year mark. At a sold-out crowd of 17,575 at State Farm Arena, they got it.

The Fever have now won four games in a row for the first time since Tamika Catchings was an active player and Stephanie White was Indiana’s coach. It was the last year the Fever went to the WNBA Finals as the No. 3 seed in the East, falling to the Minnesota Lynx.

Fever build, then maintain lead

Indiana’s first half was shaping up to be very similar to last week’s game against the Dream in Indianapolis. Indiana built a strong lead Friday night in Atlanta, leading 57-41 at halftime.

Last week, Indiana led by 15 points, 49-44, at half — and they almost let the lead slip away. The Dream fought back, led by All-Star Rhyne Howard, to lead the Fever in the fourth quarter and nearly steal a victory. It took a career-matching 27 points from Aliyah Boston (10 in the fourth) for the Fever to pull out the win.

This time, Indiana didn’t let that happen. With Howard out with an ankle injury, the Fever kept distance from the Dream for the entire game. Atlanta got within nine points at one point in the third quarter, but the Fever then went on an 11-3 run to put the game away.

Four starters — Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and NaLyssa Smith — each scored in double figures for the third straight game, and fellow starter Kristy Wallace added seven points.

Smith led the Fever with 21 points, while Boston finished with a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds).

Caitlin Clark eclipses 100 assists

Fever rookie Caitlin Clark is in good company.

Her first assist Friday night, Clark eclipsed 100 on the season in just 17 games, tying her for third-fastest in WNBA history with Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird. That assist came just seconds into the game — Clark passed the ball to a cutting Kelsey Mitchell, who easily scored a layup.

The Fever rookie has always maintained her passing is an underrated part of her game. The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer is known for her logo 3-point shots and smooth baskets, but she also has elite court vision.

That passing also comes with risks — Clark specializes in behind-the-back, no-look, and cross-court passes, and those passes take time to learn with new teammates. Clark currently averages 5.5 turnovers per game and leads the league with 88, but those in-game turnovers have decreased as Clark learned her teammates and her teammates learned her style.

Clark finished Friday’s game with seven turnovers compared to seven assists.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

Clark scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field (4-of-8 from 3) to go along with seven assists and three rebounds against the Dream.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever wins 4th straight, Caitlin Clark gets to 100 assists