The Fever were heavy favorites to win at that point, and their lead climbed over 20 in the final frame. It was a dominant response to a Game 1 loss. The crowd kept the energy throughout the fourth quarter, celebrating a victory for the home team. And while wins against great teams aren’t new for the 2025 Indiana Fever, a playoff win certainly was. It had been a while.
Almost 10 years, in fact. October 11, 2015 was the last Fever playoff win — back then, it was Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. This time, it was a first-round game, and Tuesday night was the first time Indianapolis saw WNBA postseason action since 2016. It would have been a big day regardless of the result, but the hosts seized an opportunity in front of their loud fans.
“It felt really good to see ourselves on top and do something great for a change,” Kelsey Mitchell, who has been with Indiana since 2018, said after the game.
2018 was Mitchell’s rookie season. She wasn’t even in the league the last time the Fever won, or hosted, a playoff game. Only four active Fever players were in the league at all the last time Indiana emerged victorious on the postseason stage — Natasha Howard (who was on the Fever), Damiris Dantas, Sydney Colson, and Odyssey Sims were all early in their careers at the time. Stephanie White, the current Indiana Fever head coach, was guiding the franchise during her first stint at the helm of the franchise at the time.
It really had been a while, which made Tuesday night that much more exciting for the Fever. And it wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill victory; rather, Indiana dominated, taking the game with a final score of 77-60. Including the regular season, 60 is the fourth-fewest points the Fever have allowed in a game this season. It’s only the fifth time they’ve given up fewer than 70.
“It was finishing defensive plays, making sure that we boxed out and then went and got the ball,” White said of the little things that were successful on the defensive end. Little things were problematic for Indiana in Game 1.
Yet in this game, they nailed the details on the defensive end, and it led to a key win. It’s rare that the less glamorous end of the floor guides the Indiana Fever — it did on opening night, then not much after that. Tuesday night’s win was just the second time in 10 occurrences, including the regular season, that the Fever won a game with 77 or fewer points this year.
The Dream only knocked down 37.9% of their shots. They have yet to hit 40% from the field during a game in this series, and they’ve had 13 turnovers in both outings. They struggled from the charity stripe in Game 2 as well — that was good fortune for the Fever.
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But in many ways, you make your own fortune. The crowd certainly helped, too. But the Fever were flying around and making life hard for the Dream, and it led to frequent stops. Atlanta never led.
“They were aggressive defensively. They were super physical,” Karl Smesko, Atlanta’s head coach, said postgame. “When a team’s playing that physical, sometimes you have a tendency to kind of slow down, and I think that plays into their physicality.”
All-WNBA candidate Allisha Gray shot 4/16 from the field. Rhyne Howard went 3/9 while Jordin Canada went 2/7. Mitchell stressed the need for the Fever to improve their point-of-attack defense after Game 1, and they did exactly that in limiting the Dream’s top perimeter threats. Brittney Griner had an off night, too, making just three of her seven attempts. Brianna Turner and Hull had terrific defensive nights against star players.
Forcing misses is one thing, but finishing possessions with rebounds is another. Atlanta shot under 40% in Game 1, for example, but pulled in 12 offensive rebounds and gave themselves more chances. In the regular season, they were first in total rebound percentage.
In Game 2, the Dream had just five offensive rebounds. The Fever used their strong night on the glass to turn defense into offense, and that’s when they are at their best. Their dominance without the ball led to success when they had it.
“Our aggressiveness, our attention to detail, our ability to contest without fouling, to be disciplined in that area I thought was huge,” White said. “We played good enough defense down [in Atlanta], and our offense just couldn’t get going. And we were able to get it going on both sides tonight. I continue to just be so proud of this group and their resilience, their toughness, and their ability to respond.”
Mitchell was terrific again with 19 points, and both Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard joined her as double digit scorers. Indiana’s bench was much better than they were in Game 1 — Makayla Timpson alone made more shots in Game 2 than the Fever’s entire second unit during the series opener. Aerial Powers‘ passion was contagious in Indy. Shey Peddy was a needed connector.
Altogether, it led to a Fever victory, and one that was a long time coming. It extended the series and pushed the two teams back to Atlanta, where they will play a deciding Game 3 on Thursday.
It won’t be easy. The Dream are a solid team, but haven’t shot well yet in the series. The Fever found another gear on defense in Game 2 and have given themselves a chance to advance beyond the first round for the first time since 2015. Their defense will be important once again. Their focus must be high. They know what’s at stake.
“I think it will be a really good challenge for us… Somebody has to lose and somebody has to win, obviously,” Mitchell said. “It [was] a big opportunity tonight, but you’ve gotta let it be the moment and kind of fuel you for Thursday.”
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.