TORONTO — The Indiana Fever survived a late scare from the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday night, taking down the Tempo 101-95 at Scotiabank Arena.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 29 points in three quarters, but she went back to the locker room with an unspecified injury and never returned to the bench. Caitlin Clark had 22 points and seven assists, while Aliyah Boston had 16 points and six rebounds.
Here's what I liked and disliked, and what the win means.
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What I liked in the Indiana Fever's win vs Toronto Tempo
- Kelsey Mitchell's play (as usual): The Fever raced out to a 33-point first quarter behind Mitchell's exceptional scoring — something that has become normal for the star Fever guard. She scored 16 points in the first quarter alone, making up for nearly half of the Fever's points in the first 10 minutes. It put her on an easy pace for her 20th straight 20-point game (she picked up her 20th point on a running layup in the third quarter and finished with 29 points) which tied her with A'ja Wilson for the longest streak in WNBA history scoring 20 or more points.
- Staying calm when pressured: Something that had become indicative of the 2026 Fever was building up a big lead in the first half, then crumbling and allowing their opponent back into the game. That happened, slightly, but Indiana never allowed the Tempo to get within one possession in a wire-to-wire win. Throughout the pressure, hot 3-point shooting and offensive rebounding the Tempo brought in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, they still only got within four points before Indiana built its lead back up.
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What I disliked in the Indiana Fever's win vs Toronto Tempo
- Allowing Toronto to crash the glass: The Fever got lucky in the sense that Toronto is a very good rebounding team, but not necessarily a good shooting team. Toronto extended its possessions multiple times in the first half, including one instance in the first quarter where they had three offensive rebounds in one possession, ultimately resulting in a Lexie Hull foul and two free-throw makes from Brittney Sykes. The Tempo had another three-offensive rebound possession in the second quarter, but came up empty as Boston blocked Kiki Rice's shot.
- Kelsey Mitchell headed to the locker room: Mitchell went back to the Fever locker room during the fourth quarter with an unspecified injury. It's unknown when she suffered the injury, but she checked out of the game for the final time with about 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Losing Mitchell for any amount of time would be devastating for the Fever, as she has been their most consistent scorer this season.
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What the Indiana Fever's win vs the Toronto Tempo means
This is a game Indiana (24-12) was heavily favored to win against a Tempo (10-24) team that has lost 11 straight. And the Fever delivered for their fifth win in a row. The attention, however, turns to Mitchell and her health for the rest of the road trip and beyond. Mitchell has been such an integral part of the Fever's offense this season, and her 24.2 points per game would be hard to make up.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kelsey Mitchell ties WNBA record as Indiana Fever beat Tempo in first visit to Toronto