Recap: Mitchell, Boston lead Fever past Lynx

The Indiana Fever (8-22) rode an efficient, well-balanced 2-point scoring effort and a significant edge in offensive rebounds to defeat the Minnesota Lynx (14-16), 91-73. The Fever were led in scoring by Kelsey Mitchell (24 points) and got double-doubles from Aliyah Boston (15 points and 13 rebounds) and Erica Wheeler (17 points and 10 assists). Rachel Banham led the visiting Lynx in scoring with 18 points off the bench.

While the 2023 WNBA season largely has been a struggle for the young Fever, they looked like a cohesive unit on Thursday, shooting 50 percent from the field for the sixth time while holding the Lynx to 39.7 percent. Most notably, Indiana held star Lynx forward Napheesa Collier to a season-low eight points on the night— a stark contrast to their last meeting, when Collier went off for 32 in a Minnesota victory. The Fever also outrebounded the Lynx 39-26.

13 of those rebounds belonged to Boston, who recorded another strong all-around performance against fellow rookie Diamond Miller (11 points). The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft set the tone for the Fever on both ends of the court, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and anchoring a team defense that had one of its better games of the season; only 18 of Minnesota’s 73 points came in the paint, which tied a single-game season-low among Fever opponents.

The Fever’s backcourt was similarly efficient. Mitchell and Wheeler combined to shoot 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) from the floor, with Mitchell hitting the 20-point mark for the tenth time this season. They were able to balance their own offense with that of their teammates—which perhaps has not happened as often this season as the Fever would like—totaling 14 assists against just four turnovers. This was a welcome sight for the Fever, who entered the night ranked tenth in the WNBA in assist/turnover ratio at 1.19.

If Thursday’s game was one of the season’s most impressive for the Fever, it was likely among the most disappointing for Minnesota. The Lynx, who are defying most preseason expectations and finding themselves in the playoff hunt, sit at the No. 6 seed in the standings, with mere percentage points separating them and the No. 7 seed Washington Mystics. Things still are looking good for a Lynx playoff appearance overall, but if their final seeding is disadvantageous, losses to lesser teams like Indiana will be to blame.