Caitlin Clark's 27 and 15 Force a Game 3

Photo: WNBA.com. Official Caitlin Clark headshot, Indiana Fever.

Caitlin Clark finished Game 2 with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 15 assists as the Fever beat the Aces 99-89 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and tied the first-round series at 1-1.

The hard number is the 15 assists next to 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 5-of-11 from three. That is five more assists than her Game 1 career playoff high of 10, and four past the Fever playoff record of 11 that Tamika Catchings set in 2009. Clark also fouled out in the fourth with Indiana still ahead, so the closeout minutes ran through Aliyah Boston (22 points on 10-of-15) and Kelsey Mitchell (26 points, 9-of-11 from the line).

The second quarter flipped the series. Las Vegas led 26-18 after one. Indiana answered with a 30-17 period, and eight of Clark's 15 assists came in it, per the CBS play-by-play. Raven Johnson's three buckets, all six of her points, came off Clark feeds in that quarter, the last a layup with 0.8 seconds left that made it 48-43 at the half. Clark also drew a technical at 8:33 of the period, and seven of those eight assists came after it. Lexie Hull cleaned the glass for seven boards.

Read the Wilson line and the turnover column together. A'ja Wilson still finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds, but she took only 11 shots after 19 in Game 1 and made five, with 12 made free throws doing the rest. Indiana's turnovers fell from 17 in Game 1, when Las Vegas turned them into 28 points per CBS, to 11 on Tuesday. Fewer giveaways and fewer Wilson shots read like a Fever defense that made the Aces work in the half court. Jackie Young led Las Vegas with 31 points on 13-of-13 free throws and four threes, yet she had only five assists after a 21-and-10 opener. Chelsea Gray added 10. The Aces shot 42 percent as a team after torching Indiana at 59.4 percent in Game 1.

Boston's night is the other half of Clark's 15. Ten makes on 15 shots, seven of them off Clark assists, plus five assists of her own. Her layup at 1:53 made it 94-87 after Clark had fouled out. Mitchell matched the scoring load with 26 and went 9-of-11 at the line, including 3-of-4 in the final minute, in front of a home crowd that had waited through Sunday's 102-85 hole. Indiana shot 52 percent as a team. The Fever's regular-season No. 1 offense finally looked like itself for three quarters after trailing by eight early.

Clark's foul trouble is the Game 3 problem. Her sixth personal came at 2:45 of the fourth with Indiana up 92-83, and Sophie Cunningham plus Hull held the floor long enough from there. The whistle is the first thing to watch in Las Vegas. The second is whether Becky Hammon's half-court goes back to Wilson on the block and tests whether Indiana sends two. If the second defender leaves Young or Gray alone, Game 1's 102-85 math can return. If Clark keeps the second pass as clean as she did on the 15-assist night, and Boston keeps converting at a 10-of-15 clip, the Fever have a real crack at stealing a series on the road.

Game 3 is Thursday in Las Vegas, per Yahoo, and ESPN lists USA Network and CNBC for the broadcast. The semifinals begin Sunday, Oct. 4.

Sources

• CBS Sports play-by-play: Aces @ Fever, Game 2. Sept. 29, 2026. Clark 8 assists in the 30-17 second quarter; 7 of Boston's 10 field goals off Clark assists; Raven Johnson's 3 field goals all off Clark assists in Q2, including the 0.8-second layup for 48-43; Clark technical at 8:33 of Q2; Clark sixth foul at 2:45 of the 4th with Indiana up 92-83; Boston layup for 94-87 at 1:53; Mitchell 3-of-4 FT in the final minute; Fever 11 turnovers.
• CBS Sports box score: Aces @ Fever, Game 2. Sept. 29, 2026. Clark 27/7/15; Boston 22 on 10-of-15 with 5 assists; Mitchell 26 with 9-of-11 FT; Johnson 6; Hull 7 rebounds; Wilson 22/9 on 5-of-11 with 12-of-13 FT; Gray 10.
• CBS Sports Game 2 preview. Sept. 28, 2026. Aces 28 points off 17 Fever turnovers in Game 1.
• ESPN box score: Aces @ Fever, Game 2. Final 99-89; Clark 27/7/15 (9-18 FG, 5-11 3PT, 4-4 FT); Mitchell 26; Boston 22; Young 31; Wilson 22/9; series tied 1-1.
• ESPN game page. Quarter scores LV 26-17-17-29, IND 18-30-24-27; team FG% 42% / 52%; Clark 33 minutes; Game 3 at Las Vegas on USA Network / CNBC.
• ESPN / Kareem Copeland Game 1 recap. Sept. 27, 2026. Wilson 38/16 on 15-of-19; Young 21/10; Aces 59.4% FG; Clark career-playoff-high 10 assists; final 102-85.
• Yahoo Sports / WNBA Playoffs Game 1 Takeaways. Sept. 28, 2026. Game 3 Thursday in Las Vegas if needed; semifinals begin Sunday, Oct. 4.
• Indiana Fever Game 1 release via OurSports Central. Sept. 27, 2026. Clark's 10 assists a postseason career high, one shy of the franchise playoff record of 11 set by Tamika Catchings in 2009.
• Photo: WNBA.com. Official Caitlin Clark headshot, Indiana Fever.