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ATLANTA — The Indiana Fever are semifinals bound for the first time in 10 years.
The No. 6 Fever beat the No. 3 Dream, 87-85, in a decisive Game 3 to take the first-round series. Indiana lost the first game of the series, then won the next two games to advance.
The Fever won their first playoff series since the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015. The Fever will play the Las Vegas Aces at 3 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
Here is what we learned from Thursday’s victory.
Fever advance to WNBA semifinals with last-second comeback
The Fever led for just seven seconds in the second half. But those seven seconds were the only ones that mattered. Indiana trailed for most of the game, but they took advantage of Atlanta’s seemingly constant foul trouble to stay within striking distance.
Then, with seven seconds left in the game, Aliyah Boston fought her way through a scrum under the basket for a layup. The dagger. Indiana took a one-point lead, 86-85, with Boston’s shot, and the Fever had to defend for the final seven seconds to save their postseason.
And Lexie Hull was the one to save Indiana’s postseason. She stole the ball out of the inbound, forcing Atlanta to foul. Odyssey Sims hit one of two free throws, giving Atlanta a final possession with one second left, but the shot from Brionna Jones fell short.
Fever take advantage of physical game
The Atlanta Dream like to play physical. And the Fever took advantage of that Thursday night. They knew when to draw fouls, and those free-throw shots kept them in the game.
Indiana vastly outdrew Atlanta through the first three quarters of the game, putting multiple Dream players in foul trouble. Naz Hillmon, Jones, and Allisha Gray each had two fouls by the end of the first quarter, and Gray and Jones had four each by the end of third.
This forced Atlanta to play with a little bit of caution, hoping its starters wouldn’t foul out in a decisive Game 3 environment. It also allowed Indiana to have some more freedom on offense, and pad its score with free-throws.
Indiana took 22 free throws, making 16, by the end of the third quarter. Atlanta took nine free throws in the same amount of game time, making just four.
Watch Fever Insider live with reporters Chloe Peterson, Brian Haenchen
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
