Caitlin Clark Fills Up Box Score as Fever Beat Tina Charles, Sun in Boston's TD Garden

Caitlin Clark struggling from the field isn't generally a recipe for success for the Indiana Fever, but Kelsey Mitchell and Natasha Howard had her back on Tuesday.

Despite Clark shooting just 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-7 from the field en route to 14 points—nine coming in the fourth quarter alone—the Fever knocked off the Connecticut Sun, 85-77.

Mitchell chipped in with 20 points, while Howard notched 18 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. And while Clark had a tough shooting night, she contributed in multiple ways, with seven assists and eight rebounds, even if turnovers remain an issue (five on Tuesday). Still, she was a game-high plus-21, another testament to her overall impact.

The Fever moved to 12-10 with the victory.

One huge concern for the Fever is that Clark appeared to re-aggravate the groin injury that already cost her time this season. That will be a situation to monitor going forward.

The Sun's rough season continued, meanwhile, as the team dropped to 3-19 on the year, wasting a big night from Tina Charles (21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one block, one steal).

Leila Lacan added 19 points off the bench, but the Sun shot just 36.1 percent from the field (30-of-83) and were only 5-of-25 from three.

The Fever and Sun are franchises heading in different directions at the moment. The former have surrounded Clark with a more talented roster than she had as a rookie, while the Sun didn't return any of their starters from last year's playoff team and are clearly in the beginning of a rebuild.

It certainly showed on Tuesday. Clark wasn't at her best, but she and her teammates were plenty good enough.