Caitlin Clark struggles again but closes strong as Fever top Sun in rematch of heated June contest

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The last time these teams met, things got heated.

The events of Tuesday night were considerably less volatile. But the outcome was the same as the Indiana Fever secured an 84-75 win over the Connecticut Sun. 

Clark continued to struggle against an aggressive Sun defense in her fourth game back from a five-game absence due to a groin injury. She missed her first five field goals of the second half and didn't score in the half until a jumper midway late in the fourth quarter. 

She also missed her first five 3-point attempts before hitting a late deep ball to extend Indiana's lead to 80-71. She finished 4 of 14 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3. The effort marked Clark's fourth straight game since her return from injury in which she shot 33.3% from the field or worse. 

But Clark scored nine straight Fever points late in the game to help put the Sun away. And she contributed outside of the scoring column as she finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists. She also turned the ball over five times. 

Fellow Fever All-Star Aliyah Boston was also limited in a 11-point effort while shooting 2 of 6 from the floor. She didn't score her first field goal of the game until the third quarter.

But Natasha Howard (18 points) and Kelsey Mitchell (20 points) picked up the slack to spoil the Connecticut showcase in front of a sold-out TD Garden crowd of more than 19,000 fans in the home of the Boston Celtics. 

Their previous meeting on June 17 resulted in multiple scuffles and three late-game ejections after Indiana's Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Connecticut's Jacy Sheldon. That foul led to a tussle under the basket and Cunningham, Sheldon and Connecticut's Lindsay Allen getting tossed.

By then, the outcome of the game was squarely in hand in favor of the Fever. Cunningham's foul of Sheldon appeared to be in retaliation for an eye-poke of Clark in the first-half that sparked another scuffle that resulted in Marina Mabrey shoving Clark to the court. Mabrey wasn't ejected, but the WNBA upgraded her shove of Clark to a flagrant 2 after the game. 

The game prompted criticism of the officials for letting the physical play get out of hand. There was no such drama Tuesday night. Though Clark did give officials an earful after they granted Connecticut a challenge of an out-of-bounds call. 

Clark continued to talk to officials as the review ensued. It was ultimately ruled in favor of the Sun, and Connecticut was granted possession of the ball, overturning the call on the floor. 

That was largely the extent of any drama Tuesday as Connecticut played Indiana to a much closer game, whose outcome wasn't decided until the final moments. But the Fever prevailed to and improve to 12-10. They'll face the reigning champion New York Liberty Wednesday in their last game before the All-Star break. 

The loss drops the league-worst Sun to 3-19.