Fever avoid playoff elimination, force deciding Game 5 vs. Aces - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — The Fever have found themselves with their backs against the wall time and again this season, including Sunday in Game 4 against the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces, Indiana's third time facing elimination this postseason.

But the stakes don't seem to faze them — in fact, as Fever coach Stephanie White said afterward, «it's when we've been at our best.»

The No. 6 seed Fever rallied from two consecutive losses to win 90-83 in Game 4 and force a series-deciding Game 5 on Tuesday in Las Vegas (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Short-handed Indiana, which has been without star Caitlin Clark and five other players because of injuries, continues to beat the odds as it now finds itself one win away from the WNBA Finals. The Fever have won four games as underdogs this postseason, the most by any team since the 2021 Chicago Sky (who went on to win the championship), and their three wins in elimination games are the most by any team in a single postseason since the 2022 Connecticut Sun.

«The desperation and the urgency that we play with when we're in those positions has been exactly what we need,» White said. «And we've just got to bottle that up and take it with us. It's a one-game season right now, and we've got to carry it all over, and we've got to be better.»

After a tough Game 3 loss in which the Fever faltered in the fourth quarter, Indiana led for nearly 35 minutes Sunday, using an 11-2 run to go into halftime up 46-38. Then, a big second half from center Aliyah Boston helped ward off any Las Vegas comeback attempt.

Boston compiled 17 points and nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes, shooting 11 free throws in the third quarter. Her 24 total points marked a playoff career high. She joined franchise legend Tamika Catchings