Fever vs. Dream: Kelsey Mitchell Scores 25, Passes 5,000 Career Points in 83-71 Commissioner's Cup Opener

Atlanta had just wiped out a nine-point halftime deficit and gone ahead 43-42 on a Naz Hillmon three with 6:15 left in the third quarter. Stephanie White called timeout. A little under four minutes later, Kelsey Mitchell had turned that comeback into a distant memory.

The Indiana Fever beat the Atlanta Dream 83-71 on Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, opening the defense of their Commissioner's Cup title behind 25 points from Mitchell, 11 of them in a row during the stretch that decided everything. Somewhere in the middle of it she also passed 5,000 career points, because apparently a heater alone wasn't enough content for one evening.

Fifteen All, Then a Different Game

The first quarter was a stalemate in front of 17,002, tied at 15 with Mitchell already leading Indiana with five. The Fever found some separation in the second, winning the period 23-14 with nine more from Mitchell and five apiece from Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. That 38-29 halftime lead came with a defensive footnote: Atlanta's 29 was the fewest points Indiana had allowed in a half all season, according to the team.

The Dream responded like a team that walked in at 6-2 for a reason. They needed less than four minutes of the third to erase all nine points and then some, dropping 14 on Indiana in a hurry. Atlanta finished the night shooting just 34%, but for that stretch it looked like the group that had put 91 on Connecticut two nights earlier.

From the timeout on, though, the game belonged to Indiana. It was 62-51 after three, and the fourth was a long parade to the foul line for both sides. Jordin Canada kept attacking, and Atlanta got within 74-65 on an Isobel Borlase basket with 2:37 left. Raven Johnson answered 18 seconds later with a 23-foot three off a Mitchell assist, and that was the end of the suspense.

Mitchell Gets Her Flowers, Plus Company

Mitchell finished 11 of 15 from the field and 3 of 4 from three, with all 25 of her points coming in the first three quarters. The team's notes read like a museum placard. The three she hit at 2:30 of the third pushed her past 5,000 career points, making her just the second Fever player ever to get there and the 30th in WNBA history. She's at 5,003, past Maya Moore for 30th on the league's scoring list. It was also her 47th career game with at least 25, the most in Fever history and tied with Seimone Augustus for 15th in league history.

Boston was the other problem. She scored 19 with seven rebounds and three blocks, dropped seven in the fourth, and her three made threes were a single-game career high. That gives her nine on the season in eight games, already past her previous season best of seven from 2024, per Indiana. Yes, Aliyah Boston is out here going 3 of 4 from deep. Update your priors.

Clark's shot wasn't all the way there at 6 of 17 and 2 of 8 from three, and she still piled up 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Her three at 5:09 of the third moved her past Victoria Vivians for sixth on the franchise's all-time list. Angel Reese, Clark's college rival, gave Atlanta 11 points and 10 rebounds, though four turnovers took some of the shine off.

The rest of the Dream's scoring load was heavy lifting. Allisha Gray and Canada had 13 each, but Gray needed 18 shots and went 0 for 4 from three, and Canada fouled out after handing out seven assists. Rhyne Howard, two nights removed from dropping 36 on Connecticut, managed eight points on 2-of-9 shooting.

The Block That Started It All

Rewind to that timeout, because the sequence after it is the whole game. Boston blocked a shot and Indiana turned it into an easy basket to retake the lead. Clark followed with her three at 5:09 for 47-43. Then Lexie Hull got a block of her own, Mitchell finished the layup at the other end, and the offense became a one-woman show. The Fever's run hit 11-0 by the 3:17 mark, and Mitchell kept going until she had 11 straight herself and the lead was 58-43.

Notice where it started: two blocks. The AP had Indiana entering the night allowing 89 points per contest, so a defense that hadn't exactly been a selling point picked a very good moment to show up, and the offense rode in right behind it. That 15-point margin was the biggest of the night, and Atlanta never led again.

Stats That Tell the Story

• 71: Points allowed, Indiana's lowest total of the season per the AP and its fewest since Sept. 7, 2025, per the team.
• 23 of 67: Atlanta's shooting, including 6 of 21 from three.
• 11-6: Indiana's edge in made threes, a 15-point swing in a 12-point game.
• 7-3: Blocks, in Indiana's favor, with Boston owning three and Hull's lone rejection changing the evening.
• 14-9: Indiana's edge in points off turnovers.

A Better Way to End the Week

The Fever are 5-4 and 4-2 at home, and this stopped a two-game skid that ran through Golden State and Portland. The AP described an emotional week in Indianapolis that included a Monday team meeting, so a comfortable win over Atlanta, the team the Fever knocked out of last year's playoffs, qualifies as decent therapy. Indiana heads to New York on Saturday.

Atlanta drops to 6-3 and 3-2 on the road, with a two-game winning streak gone. The Dream host Washington on Saturday.

Top Billing

The marquee on a night like this writes itself: Clark, Reese, the college rivalry that refuses to retire. The credits told a different story. Mitchell took the whole thing over with 11 straight points and a milestone only 29 other players have reached. Think of her as the supporting actor who walks off with the movie, except she's been at this long enough to bring 5,003 points' worth of receipts.

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