The Indiana Fever listed Caitlin Clark as probable for Thursday’s winner-take-all Game 3 against the Las Vegas Aces, giving the sixth seed a lift as it tries to knock off the defending champions.
The Fever posted their injury report Wednesday. Clark is listed as probable with a back injury that has lingered through the later part of the season. Center Aliyah Boston is also probable with a right lower-leg injury.
Guard Ty Harris will not play. She has been ruled out for the rest of the playoffs with a left lower-leg injury. Backup center Damiris Dantas is also unavailable after season-ending left knee surgery.
The first-round series is tied 1-1. Las Vegas won Game 1 on Sunday in Las Vegas, 102-85. Indiana answered Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with a 99-89 victory that forced the decisive game.
Clark finished Game 2 with 27 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds. She had 14 points and 11 assists in the first half, becoming the first player in WNBA history to post a points-assists double-double in the opening half of a playoff game.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 26 points and Boston added 22. Three Fever players reached 20 points in the same playoff game as the home crowd chanted for Clark throughout the night.
Clark fouled out with 2:45 remaining but had already done most of her work. She scored or assisted on a large share of Indiana’s points and helped the Fever hold off a late Aces push after Las Vegas cut the deficit to five.
In Game 1, A’ja Wilson dominated with 38 points and 16 rebounds. Clark finished that night with 15 points and 10 assists while shooting poorly from the field. The contrast between the two games has defined the series so far.
Over two postseason games, Clark is averaging 21 points, 12.5 assists and 5 rebounds. She has shot 42.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range.
Coach Stephanie White pointed to more than the stat line after Tuesday’s win.
“I thought her energy from start to finish — I mean a double-double in the first half — was pretty incredible,” White said.
White also called Clark the catalyst and said she expects the guard to take her game to another level in Las Vegas.
Clark described the team’s mindset after the Game 2 win.
“The way I looked at it, your back’s up against the wall,” Clark said. “This is the only opportunity you’re guaranteed to have is these 40 minutes, and you know you’re going to go down swinging if you’re going to lose. But I think we had the mentality like this was one we were going to win, no matter what and do it for our fans.”
Jackie Young led the Aces with 31 points in Game 2. Wilson added 22 points and nine rebounds. Chelsea Gray had 10 points and seven assists.
Both of the first two games were decided by double digits. Game 3 on Thursday in Las Vegas will decide which team advances to the semifinals. The Aces finished the regular season 31-13. The Fever went 28-16 and earned the No. 6 seed.
Indiana will need another complete night from Clark, Mitchell and Boston. The trio carried the offense Tuesday. Defense and rebounding will matter just as much on the road against a veteran championship roster.
Clark’s availability, even if listed only as probable, removes the biggest question hanging over the Fever as they prepare for one more game this season.
