Fever vs. Sky: Caitlin Clark Scores 37 as Indiana Hits Franchise-Record 18 3-Pointers in 113-90 Rout

For about 23 minutes on Sunday night, the Chicago Sky had a real game on their hands. Then Caitlin Clark started treating the 3-point line like a suggestion, and Wintrust Arena turned into a shooting gallery with one very busy customer.

Clark scored 37 points with a career-high eight 3-pointers and 10 assists, Kelsey Mitchell added 30, and the Indiana Fever pulled away from the Sky for a 113-90 win. As a team, Indiana drilled 18 triples, a franchise record according to the Associated Press. Chicago made four. Do the math and the Fever won the 3-point battle by 42 points, which is a polite way of saying the Sky were playing a different sport.

A Coin Flip Until It Wasn't

The first half was genuinely competitive. The teams were tied 28-28 after one quarter, and Chicago actually took a 51-50 lead into the locker room. The Sky were winning the way they had to: attacking the rim, where they finished with a 56-48 edge in paint points, and getting to the line, where they went 16 of 17 for the night. There were 10 lead changes. Nobody in the building would have predicted a 23-point final.

The break came midway through the third. With the score tied at 58, Indiana reeled off 11 unanswered points. By the AP's count it was a 13-2 burst overall that produced a 71-60 cushion, with Clark opening it from deep, Mitchell piling up eight points in a row by herself, and Clark's jumper with 4:31 to go in the quarter slamming the door. Indiana won the period 33-26 and carried an 83-77 lead into the fourth.

Then the Fever stopped being polite. They won the final quarter 30-13. Lexie Hull's reverse layup made it 97-82 with 4:37 left, Clark hit a 25-foot step-back with 2:31 remaining, and Indiana tacked on a 9-0 burst, capped by Bree Hall's 22-footer with 42 seconds left, for the biggest lead of the night at 25.

Clark and Mitchell, Co-Headliners

Clark's line reads like a video game on rookie difficulty: 37 points on 13-of-24 shooting, 8 of 12 from 3, 3 of 4 at the line, 10 assists, three rebounds and a plus-26 in 32 minutes. The five turnovers are the only smudge, and nobody in Indianapolis is framing those. Per the Fever, her previous career high in made 3s was seven, set May 15 against Washington, and the 37 points rank third on the franchise's single-game scoring list. It was also her fifth career game with at least 30 points and 10 assists. The team pointed out that the rest of the league combined has four.

Mitchell, meanwhile, was all efficiency. She scored 30 on 10-of-19 shooting, made 6 of 9 from deep, committed no turnovers and posted a plus-28, the best mark on the floor. The Fever say she has now scored at least 20 in 23 consecutive games, extending a league-record streak.

The pairing made its own bit of history too. This was the third game in which both Clark and Mitchell reached 30 points, and the Fever say no duo in WNBA history has done it more often. The previous high of two belonged jointly to three pairs, including Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter.

Indiana did all of this without Aliyah Boston, who sat with a right leg injury one night after scoring 22 in a loss at New York. Makayla Timpson absorbed the minutes inside with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and nine rebounds, Hull chipped in 14 on 6-of-8, and the Fever assisted on 26 of their 42 field goals while committing just nine total turnovers.

Chicago Did Plenty Right, Just Not From Deep

The Sky were not bad. Natasha Cloud was terrific with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and seven assists, Azura Stevens added 14 points and eight rebounds, and Aicha Coulibaly went a perfect 5 of 5 for 12 off the bench. Chicago shot 51% from the field.

The problem was the arc. The Sky went 4 of 21 from 3, and Sydney Taylor went 0 for 6. Trading 2s for 3s against this Indiana offense is like showing up to a group project with a highlighter while the other side brings a finished slideshow. Kamilla Cardoso made all seven of her free throws but went 2 of 9 from the floor and picked up five fouls in 24 minutes.

Eleven Straight Changed the Temperature

That 11-0 run in the third quarter. Before it, Chicago had matched Indiana nearly basket for basket and led at the half. After it, the Sky spent the rest of the night chasing a team that was making shots from well beyond the arc. They did trim the gap to six by the end of the third, but the Fever owned the fourth like they had a flight to catch.

It was also the first meeting between these teams since Aug. 8, when Sophie Cunningham went down on a hard foul from DiJonai Carrington in the first quarter of a 90-86 Indiana win in Chicago. On Sunday, Cunningham scored three points in 11 minutes, and Carrington had seven in 18.

The Damage, Itemized

• 18 of 33: Indiana's 3-point shooting, good for 55% and a franchise record for makes per the AP. Chicago went 4 of 21.
• 63: Fever points after halftime, the third-most in one half in team history, according to Indiana.
• 26 to 9: The Fever's assists against total turnovers. Chicago turned it over 14 times.
• 30-13: Indiana's fourth-quarter margin.
• +28: Mitchell's plus-minus, the best of anyone who played.

A Road Trip Salvaged, a Playoff Race Ended

Indiana is 25-14 and closed its trip at 3-2, a nice save after back-to-back losses at Dallas on Thursday and at New York on Saturday. This was the Fever's third game in four nights, which makes 113 points even sillier. The team says it was Indiana's 18th game of the season with 100 or more points, extending its own league record for a single season. The Fever also finished a 3-0 sweep of the season series with Chicago, after a 114-106 win in June and the 90-86 game in August.

For the Sky (15-23), the loss ended a three-game winning streak, and combined with Washington's win at Portland on Sunday night, it eliminated Chicago from the playoff race, per the AP.

Indiana hosts Connecticut on Friday. Chicago visits Connecticut on Tuesday.

Two Lead Guitars

Most teams would be thrilled with one guard who can take over a game from 25 feet. Indiana has two, and on Sunday they took turns. When your co-stars are both playing lead guitar and the song still sounds good, you stop worrying about the setlist.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Records and milestones as reported by the Associated Press and the Indiana Fever.