INDIANAPOLIS — When the clock ran out Sunday within the Indiana Fever's 110-109 win over Dallas, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell had put up a mixed 65 factors, together with 12 3-pointers, of their 65:51 minutes on the court docket. The finesse, the rhythm, the contact and the velocity of the 2 guards within the backcourt made it appear virtually as in the event that they had been scoring at will.
Clark and Mitchell, by the common season which ends Thursday at Washington, have developed right into a magical mixture, a 1-2 punch for opponents that Fever coach Christie Sides calls her “dynamic duo” with “ice in their veins.”
Mitchell, a veteran of the league who will flip 30 in November, went 12-of-21 and scored 30 within the Fever's last common season dwelling recreation Sunday, whereas Clark put up a profession excessive 35 factors, setting the WNBA rookie scoring file.
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The final result left Sides beaming about the best way the 2 complement each other and the chemistry that has change into explosive.
“Man, they're special. I mean those two right there can hit such big shots,” Sides mentioned Sunday. “There's just ice in their veins and they've got players around them who are helping them get open, setting good screens and then moving the defense as well. I mean, Kelsey with her ability to get downhill, you have to guard her a certain way, then she can just pull up on a dime.
“They're simply the dynamic duo. I imply that is who they're.”
Mitchell makes her life simpler on the court docket, Clark mentioned after the Dallas recreation, and makes the Fever's opponents' lives an entire lot extra sophisticated.
“It's laborious to select and select when each of us are on it places the protection in a extremely powerful spot,” Clark said. “We simply actually learn and perceive one another quite a bit higher from the place we had been initially of the season.”
There were moments in the game where Clark and Mitchell looked at one another, unbeknownst to Dallas or the sold-out crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and both knew exactly what to do, Clark said.
“The quantity of backdoor contact that she's obtained simply because we make eye contact, and she is aware of to go backdoor. It's unimaginable,” Clark said. “(We practiced) that play 1,000,000 instances, and it simply made me snort as a result of she's so quick and she will get open each single time.”
‘Get what's ours'
The way Clark reads the court (she had eight assists in Sunday's game) and Mitchell's agility and ability to find the open spot, gave Dallas a difficult decision to make, Mitchell said.
“I believe if Dallas thinks they are going to decide on one, we each simply have an opportunity to get what's ours,” she said. “But I sort of look ahead to it as a result of it is sort of like, you may all the time be in rhythm with gamers like (Clark).”
When Mitchell was asked how she makes Clark better and vice versa, she immediately focused on their speed.
“Oh man, I simply suppose that our tempo alone is… Lots of people need to play quick (and) with a younger PG, I get one of the best of each worlds,” Mitchell said. “She's younger and she likes to play quick so I can respect it.”
That speedy, quick-fire tempo units the duo as much as ship an almost unstoppable offense and performs that are not usually seen within the league, Mitchell mentioned.
“The undeniable fact that we need to play up tempo and it is a shift from what you often see from groups, I believe we set ourselves aside,” she said, “so it sort of makes us each stand out.”
Mitchell hit her career high scoring record in 2019 with 38 points against Connecticut, nearly matching it earlier this month with 36 points in a game against Dallas. Soon, she'll be playing in her first WNBA playoffs series, in her seventh season with the Fever.
“I'm actually blissful for her and happy with her,” Clark said. “She positively deserves this second.”
Follow IndyStar sports activities reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her by way of electronic mail: [email protected].
