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Fever shock Dream, advance to WNBA semifinals: Game 3 highlights

September 19, 2025

The Indiana Fever are advancing to the semifinals in the WNBA playoffs.

The No. 6 seed Fever upset the No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream 87-85 on the road on Thursday in a closely contested Game 3 that featured 11 ties and six lead changes. It was the Fever’s first playoff series win since 2015. The Fever will face either the Las Vegas Aces or Seattle Storm in the best-of-five (2-2-1) semifinals beginning Sunday.

Fever center Aliyah Boston hit a go-ahead layup with 7.4 seconds remaining to give the Fever a one-point lead, Indiana’s first since the second quarter. Dream guard Rhyne Howard attempted to inbound the ball to Jordin Canada on their next possession, but Fever guard Lexie Hull intercepted the ball, prompting Atlanta to foul. The Dream had a final look at the basket with 1.2 seconds remaining, but Dream forward Brionna Jones wasn’t able to knock down a buzzer-beating 3.

‘You knew Atlanta was going to be aggressive and make stuff ugly for us,’ Kelsey Mitchell, who scored a game-high 24 points, said. ‘And down the stretch of the game, it was about getting stops and Lexi Hull got the stop. It takes all of us. We all we got, we all we need.’

The Fever closed Game 3 on a 7-0 run to steal the decider at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. Boston, Hull and the entire Fever squad celebrated at the buzzer with injured teammates, including Caitlin Clark (right groin), Sydney Colson (left knee) and Sophie Cunningham (right knee).

Kelsey Mitchell finished with a game-high 24 points. Boston added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Odyssey Sims had 16 points and eight assists.

Dream guard Allisha Gray finished with her first career playoff double-double, recording 19 points and 12 rebounds, in addition to five personal fouls in the loss. Jordan Canada added 18 points and 10 assists.

Fever’s Caitlin Clark sets tone with black Nike Air Force 1

Caitlin Clark may not have been able to play in Game 2, but she clearly tried to influence her teammates with her shoe game. Clark, who is out with a right groin injury, wore black Nike Air Force 1 sneakers. The shoes are synonymous with bullies and tough people.

‘I fear you mean business,’ Aliyah Boston joked before Game 2. ‘Black Forces?! Them (refs) better watch out.’

Ever a superstitious type, after the Fever won Game 2, Clark wore same outfit and Air Force 1s for Game 3. After the Fever upset the Dream, they celebrated the shoes on the court.

‘If you got black Air Force 1s on, it means something,’ Kelsey Mitchell said postgame. ‘You focused.’

Fever vs. Dream highlights

End of Q3: Dream 73, Fever 69

The Dream have a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and a spot in the semifinals on the line.

“It’s win or go home. Everybody is giving it all they got,” said Dream guard Allison Gray, who has 15 points and 10 points, marking her first career playoff double-double. “I’m crashing the boards harder than I have in my entire life.”

Jordin Canada also has 15 points for the Dream, while Rhyne Howard added 13. Atlanta is up to 48 points in the paint after setting a WNBA record with 40 first-half paint points.

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell has a game-high 22 points. Odyssey Sims has 13, while Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston have 12 points each.

Fever guard Odyssey Sims goes down hard

Allisha Gray was called for her fourth personal foul of the game after hitting Odyssey Sims with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter while attempting a chase down block from behind. Sims fell hard as a result and landed on her left shoulder. She stayed down for a while in visible pain and got up holding that shoulder. The foul was reviewed for a possible flagrant, but officials determined it was just a common foul. Sims stayed in the game and is up to 13 points.

Aliyah Boston called for technical foul for pushing Brionna Jones

Fever center Aliyah Boston and Dream forward Brionna Jones Brionna Jones have been battling under the basket all series long, but emotions appeared to boil over in Game 3.

Jones and Boston got tied up while jockeying for position with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter. A personal foul was called on Jones, but after the whistle, a frustrated Boston pushed Jones off her back and onto the ground.

Officials reviewed the play and Boston was ultimately assessed a technical foul. Jones is up to four fouls, while Boston has two fouls.

Halftime: Dream 56, Fever 49

Dream guard Rhyne Howard knocked down a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining in the second quarter to extend the Dream’s lead over the Fever to eight points, the largest of the night for either team. Fever guard Lexie Hull immediately responded with a 3-pointer of her own on Indiana’s next possession, highlight the back-and-forth nature of Game 3, which has featured nine ties and six lead changes so far.

The Dream have a seven-point lead going into halftime.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 19 points in the first quarter, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3. The Fever are getting everyone involved, with 14 assists on 16 field goals, but Indiana needs to shore up its interior defense after allowing Atlanta to score 40 of its 56 first-half points in the paint.

Atlanta guard Jordin Canada is one of three Dream players in double digits. She’s up to 13 points, while Allisha Gray and Brionna Jones each have 10 points. Gray, who also has eight rebounds, had to take a seat early after picking up her third foul in the second quarter. The Dream are still looking to heat up from beyond the arc as they are 3-of-10 from the 3-point line in the first half.

End of Q1: Fever 29, Dream 27

It’s win or go home for the Fever and the Dream and each team came out with that desperation on Thursday. The Fever have a two-point lead over the Dream after a closely-contested first quarter that featured five lead changes and six ties.

Kelsey Mitchell leads all scorers with 11 points, while Odyssey Sims added seven points. The Fever are up to six fast break points, compared to five for the Dream.

“We can play as fast as possible by getting stops,’ Mitchell said after the first quarter. ‘That puts us in a great position.’

Allisha Gray has six points for the Dream, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field to start the game. The Dream is shooting much better in Game 3, going 59.1% from the field on Thursday after struggling in the first two matchups against the Fever, but Atlanta has struggled from beyond the arc (0-of-5). Atlanta is also battling foul trouble early as Gray, Naz Hillmon, and Brionna Jones each have two fouls entering the second quarter.

Dream start hot, Fever answer back

We are underway in Atlanta. The Dream couldn’t miss to start Thursday’s decisive Game 3, opening the contest 5-of-5 from the field. Dream forward Brionna Jones has a team-high five points, while Fever guard Odyssey Sims leads all scorers with seven points with 4:01 remaining in the first quarter. The Fever lead 19-17.

Indiana Fever starting lineup

Head coach: Stephanie White

Indiana Fever injury report

The Fever will be without Chloe Bibby (left knee), Caitlin Clark (right groin), Sydney Colson (left knee), Sophie Cunningham (right knee), Damiris Dantas (concussion protocol) and Aari McDonald (right foot) for Game 3 vs. the Atlanta Dream on Thursdy.

Atlanta Dream starting lineup

Head coach: Karl Smesko

Atlanta Dream injury report

The Dream have all players available for Game 3.

How to watch Indiana Fever at Atlanta Dream: TV, stream

Streaming: ESPN+, Disney+, Fubo (free trial to new subscribers)

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Gateway Center Arena (College Park, Georgia)

TV channel: ESPN2

Allisha Gray stats

Allisha Gray averaged career highs in points (18.4), rebounds (5.3) and assists (3.5) in 42 games (all starts) this season. She had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, three steals and one block in the Dream’s Game 1 win, but was held to nine points (4-of-16 FG, 1-of-4 3PT) in the Dream’s Game 2 loss.

Kelsey Mitchell stats

Kelsey Mitchell averaged 20.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 44 games (all starts) this season. Mitchell dropped a game-high 27 points, four assists and one rebounds in the Fever’s Game 1 loss. She followed up that performance with a game-high 19 points in Game 2, shooting 6-of-13 from the field including 4-of-8 from 3.

Naz Hillmon stats

Naz Hillmon averaged career highs in points (8.6), rebounds (6.2) and assists (2.4) in 44 games (17 starts) this season. Hillmon added a 3-point shot to her repertoire this season, knocking down 53 of 165 3-pointers this season after only attempting three 3-pointers the entire 2024 season. She had 16 points and nine rebounds in Atlanta’s Game 1 win and eight points and seven rebounds in their Game 2 loss.

Aliyah Boston stats

Boston, the 2023 WNBA rookie of the year, averaged a career-high 15 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 44 games this season. She recorded eight points, 12 rebound and five assists in 34 minutes of work in the Fever’s Game 1 loss on Sunday.

Caitlin Clark injury timeline

May 24: Clark suffered a left quad injury during the Fever’s 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty, where she recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Clark couldn’t pinpoint the specific play that caused her injury, but noted that it happened early in the contest. Clark said, ‘Adrenaline covers up a lot of stuff when you’re in the heat of battle. After the game, I had some pain, and then we got an MRI, and that kind of gave me the result that I didn’t want to see.’ She missed the Fever’s next five games.
June 14: Clark returned to Indiana’s lineup in the Fever’s 102-88 win over the Liberty and dropped 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in her first game back.
June 24: Clark suffered a left groin injury in the Fever’s 94-86 winover the Seattle Storm, which resulted in Clark missing the team’s next four games. Fever coach Stephanie White said she learned of Clark’s groin injury the following night after Clark alerted team trainers of discomfort.
July 1: Clark was ruled out of the Fever’s 2025 Commissioner’s Cup win over the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis. That didn’t stop Clark from rightfully celebrating the team’s hardware.
July 9: Clark returned to the Fever’s lineup in the Fever’s 80-61 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. Clark was limited to 10 points, shooting 4 of 12 from the field and 2 of 5 from the 3-point line, and had six assists, five rebounds and four turnovers. Following the blowout loss, Clark said it was ‘going to take me a second to get my wind back. … Just trying to get my legs under me.’
July 15: Clark suffered a right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever’s 85-77 victory over the Sun at TD Garden in Boston. White later confirmed Clark ‘felt a little something in her groin.’ This marked the last game for which Clark suited up.
July 18: Clark announced that she would sit out the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, where she was named a team captain. Clark was also set to participate in the 3-point contest. She said, ‘I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can’t participate … I have to rest my body.’
July 24: The Fever said Clark’s medical evaluations confirmed there’s ‘no additional injuries or damage,’ but the team said it will be cautious with Clark’s rehab and recovery.
Aug. 7: Clark reportedly suffered a mild bone bruise in her left ankle during an individual workout session in Phoenix, according to The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Aug. 8: During an appearance on Sue Bird’s podcast, ‘Bird’s Eye View,’ Clark spoke about the frustrations of her injury-filled season: “It’s not like I have a training camp to build up to play in my first game again. It’s like no, you’re tossed into Game 30 — like, ‘Go try to play well.’ It’s hard, it really is.”
Aug. 10: Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark has progressed in her recovery and has started running full court again, but Clark hasn’t returned to practice just yet: an important step in her ramp-up. ‘She’s been able to get a little bit more in her full-court running with all of her body weight. … She’s been able to do a little more on the court in terms of how she moves, but not into practice yet,’ White said.
Aug. 20: White confirmed that Clark has not returned to practice yet.
Aug. 24: Clark participated in a team shootaround and went through some non-contact drills with the second team, marking her first time practicing with the team since suffering a right groin injury on July 15.
Sept. 4: Clark shared a post on her official X account, stating that she will miss the rest of the regular season and any potential postseason action.

Sophie Cunningham injury timeline

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham suffered a season-ending MCL injury in her right knee in August 2025. She underwent surgery a week later and began her recovery and rehabilitation process in September 2025. Cunningham is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the 2026 WNBA season, which begins in May.

Indiana Fever roster

2025 WNBA Finals schedule

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