Caitlin Clark Scores 11 as DeWanna Bonner, Fever Hold Off Rhyne Howard, Dream in Win

Caitlin Clark struggled with her perimeter shooting, but she still helped the Indiana Fever clinch an impressive 81-76 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night.

With Indiana leading by one point and just over 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Clark found Aliyah Boston for a layup to give the Fever some breathing room.

The 2024 Rookie of the Year finished with 11 points, six assists and four rebounds while shooting 4-of-11 from the field. Clark missed all five of her three-point attempts.

DeWanna Bonner also contributed on the glass for Indiana, pulling down a team-high eight rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor.

Rhyne Howard led the Dream with 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting.

Howard also connected on three of her seven attempts from behind the arc, but she committed a costly offensive foul with Atlanta trailing by three points and roughly 22 seconds left in regulation.

The Dream started off strong, opened the game with an 18-10 advantage and holding the Fever to just 13 points in the first quarter.

Indiana didn't take long to respond, going on an 11-0 run to begin the second quarter.

The rest of the contest was a back-and-forth affair, as neither team was able to take a double-digit lead.

The Fever found themselves trailing by four points with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before a bucket from Natasha Howard and a triple from Kelsey Mitchell put Indiana back in front.

Most of Indiana's success occurred inside the arc, though. The Fever were a force around the rim, scoring 46 points in the paint compared to just 20 for Atlanta.

Natasha Howard led Indiana in scoring with 26 points, while Mitchell chipped in with 17 on 7-of-19 shooting.

Clark and the Fever improved to 2-1 with the win, while the Dream fell to 1-2.