Heat beats Dallas 100-93 | News, Sports, Jobs

AP PHOTO – Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark (22) runs to the basket to shoot the ball against Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale (24) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Clark scored 28 points and had 12 assists to help the Fever overcome Ogunbowale’s 34 points in a 100-93 win.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Caitlin Clark scored 28 points and had 12 assists and the Indiana Fever beat the Dallas Wings 100-93, tying a franchise record with nine 3-pointers by Arike Ogunbowale in Sunday’s victory.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 36 points, including three that gave the Fever a four-point lead with 1 minute, 58 seconds left in a game between teams that entered the game on three-game winning streaks.

Ogunbowale made 9 of 16 shots from long range — breaking her previous career high of seven 3-pointers — to score 34 points. The All-Star MVP missed two 3-pointers, including one with the Wings trailing by six in the final minute.

Ogunbowale, who tied a career-high with eight rebounds, tied the league record for three-pointers held by Mitchell (2019) and Seattle’s Jewell Loyd (2023).

“I respect guys like Arike because we’re really great friends off the field,” Mitchell said. “We tend to train together in the offseason. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a guy like that.”

Clark and Mitchell each made five 3-pointers and combined for 10-of-18. The Fever shot 50% from long range and 53% overall.

“When you have two defenders who both make plays, it puts the other team in a tough spot, what to take away, who to put on who,” Clark said. “We definitely throw well. We complement each other well. We look for each other and we go down there too. I thought it was a good balance of everything.”

Clark scored a career-high 31 points to beat fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.

She set a WNBA record with 19 assists in her first regular-season appearance at Texas in a game before the Olympic break that Indiana lost 101-93 and the Fever were within a point of advancing to the playoffs.

Now Indiana (17-16) is above .500 for the first time with Clark and solidly in the playoff mix, while the Wings (9-23) are still hoping to bounce back from a slow start that was sparked by several key injuries. Dallas, which won its first playoff series last year, is two games out of the final postseason spot with eight remaining.

The Fever are 6-1 since the Olympic break, with three of those wins coming on the road. The prize is six straight home games, starting Wednesday against the last-place Los Angeles Sparks, before the regular-season finale in Washington.

“They put it out there. We just keep talking about emptying our tank,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “I’m proud of the confidence they’re playing with, the away games. The away games have been tough. We just keep talking about staying dynamic, keeping our foot on the gas.”

After making her eighth three-pointer of the third quarter, Ogunbowale was called for a foul for preventing Kelsey Mitchell from reaching the end zone on a three-point shot.

The Wings challenged and lost, leading to a technical foul on Ogunbowale. The Fever scored five points on that possession, cutting the deficit to 67-64 after Dallas had built its largest lead at 64-55 less than two minutes earlier.

Mitchell added two more free throws after her key 3-pointer to give the Fever eight straight points and a 99-91 lead with 39 seconds left.

Satou Sabally scored 25 points and Natasha Howard had 18 points and nine assists for the Wings. NaLyssa Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds for Indiana.