Dream vs. Fever: Angel Reese Posts 21 and 11 as Every Atlanta Starter Scores 16-Plus in 108-101 Win

Caitlin Clark unveiled her signature shoe in a real game on Thursday night, racer blue with her initials on the tongue, and for a big chunk of the fourth quarter those shoes were parked on the Indiana bench with five fouls attached to them.

The Atlanta Dream made that absence hurt. Angel Reese posted 21 points and 11 rebounds, her 10th double-double of the season, every Atlanta starter scored at least 16, and the Dream left Gainbridge Fieldhouse with a 108-101 win over the Indiana Fever in front of 17,274 people who spent the final five minutes convinced the whole thing was about to flip.

The Foul Trouble That Backfired

Indiana owned the opening quarter, 29-24, with Clark scoring seven and seven different Fever players getting on the board. The second quarter is where this game got weird. Reese piled up four fouls before halftime and headed to the bench with 5:45 left in the period. For a Fever fan, that's Christmas morning.

Instead, Atlanta went on a tear without her, winning the rest of the half 19-11 and strolling into the locker room up 58-49. The Dream took the quarter 34-20 even though Clark poured in 10.

The third was a 29-29 stalemate, which suited the visitors just fine. Atlanta's cushion touched 13 after the break and sat at 87-78 going to the fourth.

Then things got loud. Clark drew her fifth foul with 8:41 left and had to sit, and Kelsey Mitchell decided she'd handle it herself. Trailing 93-84, she scored the first seven points of a 9-0 Indiana burst, including a 3-pointer that made her the eighth player in WNBA history to make 700 in her career. Sophie Cunningham's layup finished it off and tied the game at 93 with about five minutes to go.

Reese drove for the go-ahead bucket, Clark came back at the 3:28 mark, and Mitchell tied it again at 95 with a floater. For a moment, this looked like the kind of game the home team steals.

Five Starters, Zero Passengers

Reese's numbers are good. The context makes them better. She shot 8-of-14, grabbed four offensive rebounds, and after collecting all four of her fouls in the first half, she got through the entire second half without a whistle. Staying on the floor at 95-95 was the whole assignment. Then she delivered the dagger, a layup through contact with 23.1 seconds left, plus the free throw, for a 106-99 lead.

Jordin Canada ran the show with 18 points, five assists, four steals and 7-of-8 at the line. Naz Hillmon scored 17 on 3-of-5 from deep and a perfect 6-of-6 at the stripe before finishing with six fouls. Allisha Gray added 17 with three steals and a plus-16 that led both teams, somehow without recording a single rebound in 34 minutes. Rhyne Howard had 16 points, six assists and three steals, and picked up one foul in 38 minutes on a night with 53 total, which feels like a statistical glitch. Off the bench, Isobel Borlase scored nine on 4-of-7 shooting in 13 minutes and Te-Hina Paopao added seven with three assists.

Indiana's big three did everything short of winning. Clark and Mitchell scored 26 apiece, Mitchell on a tidy 10-of-15. Clark got hers in three quarters (7, 10 and 9), went 8-of-12 at the line and handed out seven assists, but she also had five turnovers and never attempted a shot after returning late. Aliyah Boston had 23 points and three blocks and finished with eight rebounds, two shy of what would have been a fifth straight double-double. Cunningham chipped in 12 on 4-of-5 shooting, and Timpson, in 21 minutes, had three steals and a team-best plus-8.

The shoe, for the record, had been keeping its owner up at night. "I think even yesterday, like knowing I was going to post that early in the morning, I didn't sleep very well because I was just so excited," Clark said before the game. Nike announced the Caitlin 1 on Wednesday, with a fall release to follow.

Turnover No. 17 Was the Expensive One

Atlanta led 97-95 on a pair of Gray free throws when Indiana gave it away for the 17th time. The Dream took off the other way, Canada found Gray for a running layup, and it was 99-95 with 2:08 left. That possession swung everything, because it turned a one-basket scramble into a game Indiana had to chase.

Makayla Timpson got two back at the line, but Howard took over from there, hitting a six-foot floater and then a seven-footer on consecutive trips to make it 103-97 with 48.6 seconds to go. Mitchell's layup kept the Fever breathing for a moment before Reese ended the debate.

It was the game in miniature. Indiana shot better from the floor, 56 percent to 54, and better from 3, 47 percent to 39. Atlanta won it on extra possessions and at the rim.

The Receipts

• 60-46: Atlanta's advantage in the paint.
• 20-13: Points off turnovers, Dream's favor, with Indiana committing 18 to Atlanta's 12.
• 17-8: Fast-break points, also Atlanta.
• 27-of-35: The Dream at the line, against 23-of-29 for the Fever.
• 69-63: Field-goal attempts, the quiet result of all of the above.

Round Two Comes Saturday

Atlanta improves to 10-4, and 6-2 on the road, and has won two straight after Sunday's 102-77 rout in Toronto. Indiana falls to 9-6 and 6-3 at home, and a four-game winning streak is finished. The Fever won the first meeting here 83-71 on June 4, so these teams are even with almost no time to think about it. They run it back in Atlanta on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, on ABC.

Limited Release

Every sneaker launch is built on the promise that the first look is the one you'll remember. Nike got its moment on Thursday. The better footwork in the building belonged to the Dream: five starters, 89 points, and a star who played a whole half of pressure basketball with four fouls and never let anyone blow a whistle at her again.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Context as reported by the Associated Press and the Indiana Fever. Postgame and pregame quotes as reported by the Associated Press.