The red-hot Indiana Fever picked up their fifth-straight win, defeating Toronto 101-95 on the road, but Caitlin Clark and company had to finish the game without All-Star teammate Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell left the game late in the third quarter, heading to the locker room. She didn't return to the court for the fourth as her team held off Marina Mabrey and the Tempo for the victory.
Following the game, Clark threw subtle shade at Canada and Toronto's Rogers Centre, jokingly blaming the lack of AC for Mitchell's early exit. "Well, maybe if Canada had air conditioning, Holly, that would probably be helpful. It's a million degrees in here, but hopefully she'll be alright," Clark explained postgame to ESPN's Holly Rowe.
More news: Fever-Dream Overtime Thriller Breaks All-Time WNBA Viewership Record Mitchell played just 24 minutes but still went off, scoring a team-high 29 points, grabbing three rebounds, and recording two assists to teammates before her exit. Clark also added 24 points along with seven assists in the Fever's win. The exit during Indiana's game also came after Mitchell got into it with the Tempo's Mabrey.
She seemingly took exception to contact from Mabrey on a play where she was heavily guarding her. Mitchell continued jawing with Mabrey and pointed in her face, resulting in a double technical foul on the two players. Regarding her exit, losing Mitchell would be a major blow to the Fever's momentum, as she and Clark have been a dynamic backcourt duo during the team's recent winning streak.
According to ESPN, they set a new record for the most 20-plus-point performances by teammates in a season with 16, besting former Phoenix Mercury players Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter's 15 games in 2008. Mitchell is having her best scoring season, shooting over 50% from the field and averaging 24.3 points per game, a career-high average. As of now, there are no reports about the Fever indicating she'll miss time, and head coach Stephanie White said Mitchell "overheated" due to the conditions in the arena.
"This is two games in a row where we played in really, really hot environments. All indications are right now that she was just overheated," she told reporters postgame. Indiana faces a tough road game on Thursday night as they'll attempt to record a sixth-straight win when they visit Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings.
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