Statistics for Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream

What started as a scary night turned into a victory for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

The star rookie overcame an early injury as her team defeated the Atlanta Dream 84-79 on Monday night. Clark had 19 points.

Just seven minutes into the game, Clark was trying to get through a block when it looked like she had sprained her left ankle. She immediately fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Clark remained on the ground holding her left ankle. Training staff came onto the court to assist her, but she walked to the Fever bench under her own power. During a timeout and when play resumed, her ankle was examined on the bench.

Clark did not go to the locker room and remained on the bench until the end of the quarter. The injury did not appear to be too serious, as she was back in the game early in the second quarter and scored on Indiana's first possession of the inning. After the game, Clark said the injury was no big deal and that her ankle only needed to be taped.

“I saw the replay and I look really weak,” she joked. “It wasn't that bad.”

Aside from Clark's injury scare, it was a great night for Indiana. The Fever opened the game with an 8-0 run and took a lead that they never relinquished. Aliyah Boston showed her dominance in the penalty box early on and Kelsey Mitchell continued to shine on offense. Indiana was up by as many as 18 points.

Despite not making the playoffs, Atlanta has been one of the best teams since the Olympic break ended. The Dream won their first three games in August before losing to the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.

But the Dream are one of the league's worst offensive units, and their struggles were evident Monday. Atlanta ranks last in the WNBA in points per game (75.8) and shooting percentage (41%), and they shot 37% against Indiana. The Dream took a lead in the fourth quarter, cut it to two points, and had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but couldn't capitalize. Indiana is now 3-0 against Atlanta this year.

Mitchell was the best scorer of the evening with 29 points. Boston also managed a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Of course, the Caitlin Clark effect is still going strong. The Dream play their home games at the Gateway Center Arena, which has a capacity of 5,000 spectators. But with Clark and her team in town, the team moved the competition to the State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, which has a capacity of just under 17,000 spectators.

The arena was packed and demand was so high that only standing room tickets were sold. The Dream announced that the game's attendance was 17,608, making it not only the largest attendance at a Dream game, but also the best attended WNBA game in the state of Georgia.

Caitlin Clark Statistics

Clark finished the night with 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, one block and two turnovers. She made 6 of 14 shots on the night and 4 of 9 from beyond the three-point line. With her four three-pointers, Clark has now made 85 three-pointers in her rookie season, tying with Dream guard and 2022 first-round pick Rhyne Howard for the most three-pointers made by a rookie.