WNBA playoff scores and takeaways: Fever pressure decisive Recreation 3, rookie delivers for Storm – The New York Occasions

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Close to the top of a grinding third quarter, wherein our bodies hitting the ground and whistles have been practically as frequent as baskets, the Indiana Fever determined they weren’t prepared for his or her season to finish.
Main by 10 factors with lower than 30 seconds remaining within the third quarter of Tuesday’s Recreation 2, Fever middle Aliyah Boston muscled up a basket over two Atlanta Dream defenders. Seconds later, Indiana reserve guard Shey Peddy deflected Atlanta’s inbounds cross into the arms of guard Kelsey Mitchell, who discovered Boston open on the high of the important thing. Boston swung the ball to protect Lexie Hull, who was uncovered on the left wing and hit her solely 3-pointer of the sport because the interval expired.
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Immediately, a 10-point Indiana lead ballooned to fifteen. Hull bumped chests with Boston and ahead Natasha Howard, and she or he gestured for the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd to develop louder.
“The vitality, everybody felt it,” Boston stated. “The gang was going loopy, and we simply used that momentum into the fourth.”
The Fever’s grittiness was on full show of their 77-60 victory, pushing their first-round collection in opposition to the Dream again to Atlanta for a series-deciding Recreation 3 on Thursday. The sequence to shut the quarter typified Indiana’s evening. It was typically clunky, however in the long run, there have been cheers. Because of this, Indiana picked up its first playoff win since 2015.
shoutout the followers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Ro4NBalNGx
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 17, 2025

The five-point dash to shut out the third was a part of a 15-0 run that stretched throughout the third and fourth quarters. In a matter of minutes, an eight-point cushion grew to become 23, and the Dream by no means recovered.
“They made some key performs defensively to get out in transition and get some straightforward seems to be,” Dream All-Star middle Brionna Jones stated. “They got here out and so they have been aggressive. We wanted to match that higher tonight.”
The Fever’s protection was stifling throughout the crucial run. And their offense confirmed nice steadiness, as 5 gamers scored throughout the important thing stretch — none of them was Mitchell, who completed the win with a game-high 19 factors.
By means of two video games, Indiana’s 3-point protection has been stout. The Dream, who completed the common season No. 2 in offensive score, made solely three of their first 17 3-pointers earlier than reserve guard Te-Hina Paopao hit two 3s within the ultimate two minutes. That may once more be crucial in Recreation 3, when the Fever will look to fluster Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard and Allisha Grey. The duo mixed to attain solely 19 factors after combining for 40 in Recreation 1.
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Dream coach Karl Smesko known as the efficiency “simply an off-day.” Fever coach Stephanie White stated her crew constructed strengths.
“This can be a group that’s confidence has by no means wavered,” White stated. “We’ve been in each sort of scenario you may think about and we’ve been capable of finding methods to place ourselves in place to win, and (Recreation 3) can be no completely different.”
The one saving grace from the Storm’s calamitous 25-point loss in Recreation 1 was the in-game turnaround from Dominique Malonga. After a tricky first half wherein she shot 1 of 8 from the sphere and was schooled by A’ja Wilson, Malonga made all three of her field-goal makes an attempt within the second half, including six rebounds.
Two days later, Malonga didn’t want an adjustment interval. The 19-year-old rookie was the difference-maker for Seattle in a must-win sport. She recorded a consecutive double-double and completed with a team-high plus-11 because the Storm accomplished a nine-point fourth-quarter comeback to even the first-round collection in opposition to Las Vegas at one sport apiece.
“There may be an evolution in each single sport that we play, now we have not seen the identical Dom in two video games,” Storm veteran Nneka Ogwumike stated.
Coach Noelle Quinn saved the No. 2 decide on the court docket for the ultimate 6:04, trusting Malonga to protect Wilson and supply Seattle with a presence on the glass. Wilson didn’t rating throughout that total stretch and had just one rebound.
The reigning MVP’s ultimate shot try, because the Aces held onto a two-point lead, fell brief in opposition to Malonga’s closeout, and she or he didn’t cease there. She raced the complete size of the court docket, beat Wilson to the opposing aim, caught an outlet cross from Skylar Diggins and completed by contact to provide the Storm their first lead of the second half with 31 seconds to play.
Dominique Malonga runs the ground and ties it, Seattle goes nuts
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— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:41 PM

“Good catch and difficult end by her,” Diggins stated. “I’m actually impressed by the free throw. That’s an enormous second by a 19-year-old.”
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No crew performed extra clutch minutes than Seattle (110) throughout the common season, however Malonga wasn’t usually on the court docket, showing for under 23 minutes. However she demanded that point in Recreation 2. She rose to the problem of guarding Wilson, and she or he battled Wilson for place and didn’t foul her within the fourth quarter. Malonga additionally made the appropriate play again and again; her help to Erica Wheeler to chop the result in three was among the many largest moments of the evening earlier than her and-one delivered the win.
The Storm victory ended Las Vegas’ 17-game profitable streak, the second-longest in a single season in WNBA historical past. Now, not solely have the Aces tasted defeat, however they face elimination of their subsequent sport. As they put together for Thursday, they’ll should cope with a repeatedly evolving model of Malonga.
(Picture of Natasha Howard: Michael Hickey / Getty Pictures)
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