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Natasha Howard added 12 points and five
rebounds. Mitchell also had four assists and Boston finished
with five rebounds and three assists.
Te-Hina Paopao scored 11 points off the bench to lead the Dream,
and Rhyne Howard added 10. The Dream fell 25 points short of
their regular-season per game average. Allisha Gray added nine
points and seven rebounds despite playing through foul trouble
and clashing briefly with two fans in the front row midway
through the fourth quarter. Both fans were escorted out of the
arena by security.
The Fever hosted their first playoff game since 2016 and fed off
the energy of another sellout crowd to earn their first
postseason win since Oct. 11, 2015, when they beat the Minnesota
Lynx 75-69.
It was a stark turnaround from Game 1.
As both teams battled serious foul trouble, Atlanta couldn't get
the stops it needed — and the Fever took full advantage with its
first wire-to-wire playoff win since 2002.
Injury-riddled Indiana started fast, using a 10-2 spurt midway
through the first half to take a 30-19 lead, only to see Atlanta
cut the halftime deficit to 35-29 courtesy of Gray's 3-pointer
to close the second quarter — the Dream's first 3 of the game.
Atlanta continued to rally early in the second half, closing to
40-37 midway through the third quarter.
But behind the tandem of Mitchell and Boston, Indiana answered
with seven straight points, closed the quarter on another 7-0
run and opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 spurt to make it
67-44. The blowout allowed Mitchell and Boston to get some extra
rest down the stretch.
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