Fever beat Dream as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese shine
Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 and hit the 5,000-point mark as Indiana beat Atlanta 83-71 in a Cup game that turned star power into a team statement.
Kelsey Mitchell supplied the night’s sharpest answer to the attention around Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, scoring 25 points, going 11 of 15 from the field and reaching the WNBA’s 5,000-point club as the Indiana Fever beat the Atlanta Dream 83-71 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The result carried weight well beyond the league’s biggest names. It was the teams’ first meeting of the 2026 season, Indiana’s opening game in the WNBA’s sixth annual Commissioner's Cup, and another step in the Fever’s effort to defend the in-season tournament title it won in 2025. The Cup carries a $500,000 prize pool, and Indiana is trying to become the first team in league history to repeat as champion.
Caitlin Clark finished with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Aliyah Boston added 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Angel Reese had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, and Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada each scored 13 points. Naz Hillmon added 12. The Fever moved to 5-4, while the Dream dropped to 6-3.
Indiana’s response came after a difficult stretch that included back-to-back losses on a West Coast trip and a team meeting on Monday following the sideline exchange between Clark and head coach Stephanie White in Portland. The Fever also used the game to reset a defense that had been allowing 89 points per contest. Atlanta was held to a season-low total, and Indiana’s pressure on the ball and activity at the rim gave the home team the kind of possession edge it had been missing.
Mitchell’s scoring burst changed the game in the third quarter, when she scored 11 straight points to push Indiana ahead. Clark and Boston then helped close it out, with Clark repeatedly creating clean looks and Boston controlling the paint on both ends. The Fever’s balance mattered as much as the rivalry framing around Clark and Reese, because Indiana won without leaning on one player alone.
Clark’s night also included a brief scare when she got sick near halftime. She returned for the second half and later said she felt lighter and better. By then, the bigger story was the broader one: Indiana turned a nationally watched matchup into a showcase for roster depth, defensive recovery and the kind of star-driven game that keeps the WNBA’s summer schedule in the center of the sports conversation.
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