Kia Nurse, Aari McDonald rally Sparks past Caitlin Clark, Fever – Daily News

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — The Sparks were so dominant during a momentum-shifting portion of the second half that they were able to withstand a 30-point night from much-hyped rookie Caitlin Clark.

Kia Nurse scored 22 points and Aari McDonald added a season-high 21 points to rally the Sparks to an 88-82 victory over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night, handing Clark her third straight home loss.

Indiana earned its only victory of the season last week at Crypto.com Arena, but neither Clark nor her teammates could recreate that finish in the rematch.

Clark finished with a season-best 30 points six assists, five rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals. She also made three 3-pointers. Kelsey Mitchell had 15 points and Aliyah Boston fought through foul trouble to add 17 points and six rebounds for the Fever in front of a near sellout crowd of 16,013.

“Tonight she was able to get to the foul line a lot, which supplemented her offense, but I thought we did a pretty good job (defensively),” Sparks coach Curt Miller said after facing Clark for the second time four days. “Obviously, the point total tonight again was bigger but you know seven made baskets tonight …”

That made Miller feel pretty good.

The game featured the top two picks in last month’s WNBA draft, Clark and forward Cameron Brink, and the league’s only one-win teams. Brink finished with three points, three rebounds and two assists, but it was veterans Nurse and McDonald (four assists) who stole the show.

The Sparks (2-4) swung the game with a decisive 28-8 run that turned a 55-48 third-quarter deficit into a 76-63 lead in the fourth quarter. Again, the Fever (1-7) never recovered. Dearica Hamby added 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Sparks.

At times, it was downright ugly. While the Fever shot just 38.2% from the field, the Sparks committed 19 turnovers while making a season-best 14 3-pointers.

And yet Clark’s presence and play created a wide range of emotions at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Fans leaped to their feet when she made a 3-pointer from the right wing just 66 seconds into the game. She wowed fans with nifty passes, crafty steals and even two first-half blocks.

She made Fever fans wince with three first-half turnovers and when a frustrated Clark drew a technical foul with 2.7 seconds left in the first quarter, Coach Christie Sides even pulled her star rookie toward the free-throw line for a discussion between quarters.

And once, between McDonald’s free throw attempts, the Sparks guard mistakenly rushed to defend Clark.

“I think she was just trying to pick me, up, I don’t think she realized she had another because of the technical,” Clark said. “She didn’t say anything, just a kind person, honestly.”

But it was only good enough to get the Fever within 37-32 at halftime.

Then, with former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, Indiana Pacers players Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard and current NFL players Shaquille Leonard and Nick Cross watching courtside, Clark & Co. turned the corner in the second half.

They opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run but surrendered the lead when the Sparks closed the quarter with three straight 3-pointers and a breakaway layup to take a 59-55 lead during the decisive run.

Clark made three 3-pointers and 13 of 15 free throws.

“I think I just played with an aggressive mindset,” the former Iowa college star said. “I think that was the biggest thing – to play downhill the best I could. We did some good things and then we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”