Sun close out Caitlin Clark, Fever to reach WNBA semifinals - ESPN

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and 13 assists to help the Connecticut Sun sweep Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever out of the playoffs with an 87-81 win Wednesday night.

The third-seeded Sun will now face either Minnesota or Phoenix in the semifinals, which begin Sunday. It will be Connecticut's sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinal round or later, tying the second-longest streak by any team in WNBA history.

Thomas finished with 26 assists in the two-game series, tied with Sue Bird (2020) for the most assists over a two-game span within a postseason.

Clark played much better in Game 2 than she did in her postseason debut Sunday. The AP Rookie of the Year finished with 25 points and nine assists, but it wasn't enough. Aliyah Boston added 16 points and 19 rebounds.

Boston's layup with 2:05 left gave Indiana a 77-75 advantage, but DeWanna Bonner, who was playing in her WNBA-record-matching 82nd playoff game to tie Lindsay Whalen, answered with a 3-pointer 14 seconds later.

Neither team scored on their next few possessions until Marina Mabrey hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 45.5 seconds left to give the Sun an 81-77 lead.

Kelsey Mitchell missed a 3 on the Fever's next possession, and the Sun sealed the game from the foul line.

Trailing by seven at the half, the Fever scored the first seven points of the third quarter to tie the game. The teams traded baskets until Lexie Hull's layup gave the Fever a 48-47 lead midway through the period.

It was short lived as Thomas took over, scoring 10 points during a 14-4 run to close the quarter. Thomas joined Phoenix's Diana Taurasi as the only players with multiple 15-point, 10-assist performances in series-clinching games in WNBA history (including single elimination games).

Clark brought the Fever back with her 3-pointer that gave the team a 71-70 lead with 3:59 left, and the teams traded baskets until Bonner's 3.

Indiana got off to a fast start and was up 14-6 before the Sun scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to go up by three. With 1:29 left in the quarter after a foul, Clark pointed out a fan sitting in the second row to an official, who called over security and had the individual escorted to the back. The fan returned later, and there were no further incidents.

The run continued to start the second as Connecticut went up 26-16 on Carrington's layup with 7:32 left in the half. The Sun led 41-34 at the half. Carrington was honored before the game as the league's Most Improved Player.

On the last play of the half, Erica Wheeler went in for a layup trying to beat the buzzer and went flying into the courtside photographers. She was down for a few minutes before getting up and walking back to the locker room. She had her left thumb looked at and didn't return in the second half.

Clark finished the half with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Sun were missing starting guard Tyasha Harris, who injured her ankle in Sunday's win. Mabrey started in her place.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.