Fever vs. Dream: Makayla Timpson's Career-High 20 Carries Indiana to a 95-91 Overtime Win in Atlanta

Nobody walked into State Farm Arena on Sunday expecting Makayla Timpson to decide this game. Caitlin Clark was out there. So were Angel Reese, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Kelsey Mitchell, enough star wattage to power a small city.

Then overtime started, and Timpson scored Indiana's first three field goals of the period. She finished with a career-high 20 points, and the Indiana Fever outlasted the Atlanta Dream 95-91 in a game with 14 lead changes, a Mitchell streak on the line and a fourth quarter Atlanta would very much like to have back.

Four Swings and One Overtime

The first half alone had enough runs for a full night. Indiana scored 10 straight early, then went on an 8-0 tear to lead 36-27. Atlanta, short-handed and irritated, responded with Reese driving the comeback, and a 17-4 finish to the half gave the Dream a 44-40 lead. They kept pressing in the third and led 72-64 with 10 minutes to play.

Then Atlanta's offense simply stopped. The Dream scored nine points in the fourth quarter. Nine. Sophie Cunningham's and-one put Indiana up 78-77 with 3:35 left, Howard answered with two free throws, and Naz Hillmon's layup off a Gray feed made it 81-78 with 2:22 to go. Those were Atlanta's last points of regulation. Mitchell tied it with a 24-foot step-back at the 1:05 mark, and the Dream came up empty on three straight looks on their final possession.

Reese opened overtime with a bucket, and Aliyah Boston tied it at the line. That is when Timpson went off: a layup off a Mitchell feed, an alley-oop from Boston and a tip-in, all inside 1:10, turning an 83-83 tie into 89-83. Atlanta would not go quietly. Hillmon scored, Howard converted a three-point play, and it was 91-88 with 1:10 left. Mitchell's driving layup made it 93-88 with 13.6 left, Howard got fouled on a 3 and made all three, and Clark finished it with two free throws at the 9.8 mark.

Timpson's Day, Mitchell's Streak

Timpson's line was absurdly clean: 9 of 13 from the field, five offensive rebounds, seven total boards and zero turnovers in 33 minutes. The Fever credited her with six points in overtime, and every one of them came when Indiana needed separation.

Mitchell, meanwhile, spent most of the game flirting with the end of something. She had five points at halftime and picked up her third foul midway through the third. She went into the final 13.6 seconds of overtime sitting on 18, and that layup got her to exactly 20. It was her 19th consecutive game with at least 20, one short of the overall record of 20 held by A'ja Wilson, according to the team.

Clark had 26 points and nine assists in 41 minutes, with five turnovers and a 3-of-10 day from deep. Boston might have been the best all-around player in the building at 18 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, five steals and three blocks. The Fever's notes list it as her 52nd career double-double, and they add that her first quarter included at least two points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks, a first for an Indiana player and enough to make her just the 15th player in WNBA history with such a quarter.

Gray was spectacular in defeat, matching her career high with 32 on 11-of-24 shooting, with seven rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes. Reese had 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Howard scored 17 and went 8 of 8 at the line while shooting just 4 of 13 from the field, and Madina Okot gave Atlanta a real lift with eight points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

Nine Points in 10 Minutes

Everything turns on that fourth quarter. Atlanta had scored 72 points through three periods and was at home with a comfortable margin. It then managed one field goal in the final five minutes of regulation.

Context matters here. Jordin Canada was ruled out minutes before tip, Brionna Jones sat with a left leg injury, and Jaylyn Sherrod, in her third WNBA season, got the first start of her career. Coach Karl Smesko said there is no timetable for Jones. "Hopefully we'll get her back soon," he said. Howard and Gray both played more than 40 minutes, and the Dream looked every bit like a team running out of bodies and answers at the same moment.

Stats That Matter

• Fourth quarter: Indiana 17, Atlanta 9.
• Turnovers: Fever 9, Dream 15, with Indiana holding an 8-2 edge in steals.
• Points in the paint: Indiana 48, Atlanta 36.
• Field goals: The Fever made 36 on 81 shots and the Dream made 29 on 82. Seven extra baskets on one fewer attempt is a winning formula.
• Free throws: Atlanta went 25 of 26 and still lost, which is hard to do.

Fourth Place Gets a Little Safer

Indiana improved to 23-12 overall and 10-6 on the road, and the win was its fourth straight. The AP framed it as protecting the Fever's hold on fourth place in the WNBA standings, and the top four teams get homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It also opened a five-game road trip that moves on to Toronto on Tuesday.

Atlanta dropped to 21-13 overall and 12-6 at home, with a two-game winning streak over. The teams finished the season series tied 2-2. The Dream head to Las Vegas on Tuesday, and they could use some bodies by then.

The Supporting Actress Takes the Movie

Every so often a film with four marquee names above the title gets walked away with by the actress listed sixth on the poster. Clark had 26. Gray had 32. Mitchell kept the streak alive. And when the whole thing needed a scene-stealer, Timpson showed up in overtime and took it. Hollywood calls that a breakout. Indiana calls it 23-12.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details and quotes as reported by the Associated Press and the Indiana Fever.