Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark help Fever continue hot streak with victory over Liberty

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 of her 28 points in the first half, and Caitlin Clark added 22 points and 10 assists to lead the Indiana Fever to a 106-92 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.

Indiana has won seven of its last nine, and this one came after coach Stephanie White’s 2 1/2-minute pregame outburst, defending herself while also calling out the sideshows she thinks have overshadowed the WNBA.

This time, it seemed to fuel the Fever, who shot 59% from the field and 79% from 3-point range as they took a 64-46 halftime lead against New York, which had gone 8-1 since losing by 20 to Indiana in mid-July. And this time, unlike last week against defending WNBA champion Las Vegas, they didn’t allow a double-digit lead to slip away.

Mitchell was 11 of 16 from the field and she, like Clark and Sophie Cunningham, each made four 3s on a night Indiana finished with 16 on 25 attempts. Cunningham had 12 points, and Aliyah Boston added 19 points and seven rebounds.

Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu each had 19 points for the Liberty. Jonquel Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

ACES 86, MYSTICS 76

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 26 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks for her 17th double-double this season, Jackie Young added 25 points and eight assists, and Las Vegas ended Washington’ seven-game winning streak with a victory.

Chelsea Gray scored 12 points, and NaLyssa Smith had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Las Vegas (23-11). Young became the seventh-fastest player in WNBA history to reach at least 4,000 points and 1,000 assists, doing so in 275 career games.

Shakira Austin scored 20 points and Sonia Citron added 19 for Washington (19-13), which had not lost since July 18 against Golden State. Kiki Iriafen had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored six points in her debut for Washington.

The Aces finished with 40-plus points in the paint for the ninth straight game.