Lynx Clinch the No. 1 Seed After a 19-Point Loss

Cheryl Reeve sat her Minnesota starters for the entire second half and still left Indianapolis with the No. 1 seed. The Indiana Fever won 96-77 on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with Caitlin Clark scoring 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and four steals.

Portland’s 90-82 overtime win over Golden State locked the Lynx into first anyway. Indiana bought one more day of 4-seed math that still runs through Atlanta, then through a Thursday rematch in Minneapolis.

The White Flag Came Before Halftime

Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams walked off the floor in warmup shirts they had not removed since halftime. Napheesa Collier, McBride, Williams, and Natasha Howard did not play a minute after the break. Reeve had seen enough once Indiana closed the first quarter on a 14-2 run and led 31-16.

Minnesota trailed by as many as 29 points and by 23 at the half. Reeve said rest mattered more than chasing a game that was already gone. McBride had talked that morning about ripping momentum back. The Lynx did not.

Collier scored 9 points in 13 minutes. McBride went scoreless in 12 minutes on 0-for-4 shooting. Williams had 2 points in 9 minutes. Howard finished with 6. Maya Caldwell started in Olivia Miles’ place and played 19 minutes for 7 points.

It’s embarrassing. We should be disappointed and embarrassed about the product that we put on the floor tonight. Not proud of what we did.

Napheesa Collier, Lynx forward, after the loss

Chloe Bibby, who led Minnesota with 15 points off the bench, said the group needed “a little bit punch in the face.” Reeve said she could not care less about seeding, calling the Lynx a damn good road team. They are 18-4 away after this one. The 1-seed still arrived from Portland, not from anything they did in the last 20 minutes in Indiana.

Olivia Miles Never Checked In

Miles was listed as questionable, then ruled out about 90 minutes before tip after trainers tested her. She wanted to play. Reeve said the left calf had popped up earlier, that she had almost sat Miles on Sunday against Connecticut, and that she probably should have. “We just simply can’t take a chance,” Reeve said. Miles will be a game-time call again Thursday.

MILES ON THE SIDELINE

• The ruling: She was out with a left calf on the injury report, the same leg that had already cost her two July games with a right calf strain.
• The record: On Sunday she passed Clark’s 769-point rookie scoring record, finishing with 21 points against Connecticut to reach 790.
• The production: She entered the week at 19.8 points and 6.0 assists per game, first on the Lynx in both.
• Thursday: Reeve said Miles is likely another game-time decision for the regular-season finale at Target Center.

She left the building with an ice bag on the lower leg. Without her, Minnesota lost the ballhandler who had just passed Clark in the rookie book two days earlier, then spent the second half watching reserves try to climb out of a hole the starters had dug.

Indiana Opened a 29-Point Lead in 20 Minutes

The Fever put up 57 points in the first half and led 57-28 at the peak. Clark went 9-for-18 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, with all six free throws down. Aliyah Boston added 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, and a plus-23. Sophie Cunningham scored 11 off the bench, including three 3-pointers.

Indiana’s official account posted Clark’s line after the win.

Caitlin Clark balled out in tonight's win over Minnesota 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/XGAFg19k7F

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 23, 2026

HOW THE NIGHT BROKE

The third quarter is the part that almost undid the night. Minnesota’s backups went on a 17-0 run and, after Aari McDonald’s layup, the Lynx were within 71-64 at the end of three. They still trailed only 74-66 with 8:15 left. Monique Billings made two free throws, then Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Boston scored in a row to make it 82-66. Indiana closed the fourth 25-13.

For the game the Fever shot 32-for-63 (51%) and 9-for-26 from three, with 39 rebounds, 27 assists, 13 turnovers, and 11 steals. The Lynx shot 27-for-72 (38%) and 11-for-33 from three, with 17 turnovers. Bibby made five 3s. Liatu King scored 12. Dorka Juhász had 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Clark said the Fever are scary when they are clicking, and that the job now is consistency.

Mitchell’s Streak Hit 27 Games on a Late Three

Mitchell scored 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting and 6-for-6 from the line in 27 minutes. The 20th point came on a 3-pointer with a little more than two minutes left, which is late for a night Indiana had led by 29. That timing is why the last two minutes felt like a second game inside the first: the streak, not the seed, was still open.

WHAT SHE ADDED IN 2026

• The season record: On Sept. 18 in Toronto she scored 33 points and passed A’ja Wilson’s 1,021-point mark from 2024, reaching 1,034 that night.
• The streak: Tuesday was her 27 consecutive game with 20 or more points, a WNBA record she already owned.
• The night: She added four assists and no turnovers, and the building answered with MVP chants.

Clark still led the scoring sheet. Mitchell still left with the line the league will keep. The Fever needed both, because the third quarter had already shown what happens when that first-half gap starts to move.

What the Fever Still Need for Home Court

Top four seeds host Games 1 and 3 of a best-of-three first-round series. Indiana is 28-15 this season, one game behind Atlanta, and cannot finish worse than sixth after Tuesday. Las Vegas’s 89-79 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday also capped the Fever at fourth at best.

THE BRACKET AFTER TUESDAY

If Atlanta beats New York on Wednesday, the Dream lock the 4-seed no matter what Indiana does in Minneapolis. If the Dream lose and the Fever beat Minnesota on Thursday, both would sit at 29-15 and the 4-seed would go to the league’s tiebreakers, starting with head-to-head. A Fever win Thursday also locks fifth unless Washington also loses, because the Mystics hold the tiebreaker if those two finish even.

A first-round meeting with Atlanta is still the most likely draw if Indiana lands fourth or fifth. Sixth would send the Fever toward Las Vegas. That is the whole remaining argument for Thursday, and it does not include Minnesota, which already has the 1-seed in its pocket.

Thursday Sends Them Back to Minneapolis

The same two teams play again Thursday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. ET at Target Center. Indiana still has to win on the road to keep the 4-seed door open. Minnesota does not have to win anything. Reeve can sit who she wants, including Miles, without the bracket moving.

That is a different game than the one Indiana just played. The Fever got 57 points in a half from a group that had dropped a 93-77 home game to Washington on Sept. 20. They also scored 14 in the next quarter against Minnesota’s second unit. Clark’s 5 turnovers sat next to her 9 assists. The Lynx are 4 of their last 5 on the wrong side, with the only win in that stretch against Connecticut, and they still walk into the finale as the 1-seed.

McBride’s version of the next 40 minutes was an attitude shift. Reeve’s version, after Tuesday, was rest. Those two ideas have two days to meet.

Collier Called the Night Embarrassing

Collier spoke to the team after the game. She said she was proud of the group that cut a 29-point deficit to seven, and that the starters had let those players down. The Lynx had just met about what they wanted to get done in the postseason, she said, and they did none of those things.

We’re scary when we’re clicking. Like, we’re the best offensive team in the league, and we’ve shown moments where we can be really good defensively. I feel very confident in everything and everybody that we have in this locker room, and I think for us it’s just finding a level of consistency.

Caitlin Clark, Fever guard, after the win

Indiana found that level for 20 minutes, lost it for 10, and found it again when the lead was eight. Minnesota found the 1-seed in another city, on a night its best rookie never took off her warmups and its best veterans put them back on at halftime. They see each other again Thursday, with only one of those two problems still live.