As the Indiana Fever fell to the Washington Mystics 93-77, Caitlin Clark and Co. kept searching for an answer against the Mystics. And it was Clark who still found unconventional ways to create something out of nothing. As the game continued, one sequence caught the broadcast crew by surprise, with Lauren Betts on the receiving end.
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The sequence occurred with 5:13 left in the third quarter. The Fever were running a sideline out-of-bounds play, with Clark as the inbounder. Betts was standing with her back facing Clark, trying to seal off any entrance to the paint. Clark, seeing the paint wide open, threw the ball off Betts’ back, caught it, and forced the forward into a foul as she drove.
“Off the back of Betts! And the trickery continues!” the announcer exclaimed on the broadcast, which was clipped and posted to X by @ShowCaseShabazz.
Unfortunately for Clark, the play didn’t change the outcome of the game. It was a tough night for the Fever star in particular. Clark finished the night with a game-high 25 points, but it came on an inefficient 6-for-20 shooting display, including shooting 30% from the three-point line, and she turned the ball over five times.
After the game, Clark admitted that it wasn’t the best performance from the team, but also added that such showings are unavoidable sometimes.
“Sometimes that’s just how the game of basketball goes,” she told reporters, per ESPN. “It feels like we just couldn’t throw it in the water. But at the same time, that might happen in the playoffs. So, figure it out. Find a way to win. I’m not sure we’ll ever shoot it poorly the rest of the year like that. … We’ve had the best offense in the league all year. It just didn’t feel like us.”
While the Fever may have one of the league’s best offenses, they also suffer on the other side of the court. The Fever held the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league as they went up against the Mystics, a team with the league’s second-best defensive rating. The Fever are a scoring powerhouse, but if Aliyah Boston is missing from the floor, they concede as much as they score.
This loss was also significant because it put the Fever’s playoff picture in jeopardy. The team now sits with the #5 seed at 27-15, a game behind the Atlanta Dream, which means that there’s a real chance that Indiana heads into the playoffs without home-court advantage. The game also drew several eyes as Caitlin Clark was seen venting her frustration on Fever head coach Stephanie White in the first quarter.
To make things worse, the Fever are set to face the Minnesota Lynx twice to close the season, who hold the league’s best record. The worst-case scenario could see Indiana drop to the #8 seed if they lose both of their games and the Mystics, the New York Liberty, and the Dallas Wings each win their remaining games.
Only time will tell how the Fever close their season, but the sequence showed that Clark’s creativity is why defenders can never quite stop paying attention to her, even on a poor shooting night.