Rhyne Howard’s late free throw helps the Dream outlast Caitlin Clark and the Fever, 91-90

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Rhyne Howard made a go-ahead free throw with 9.1 seconds left, and the Atlanta Dream withstood a thrilling fourth-quarter rally led by Caitlin Clark to beat the Indiana Fever 91-90 on Tuesday night.

Clark ignited the Fever with two of her signature deep 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and finished with 27 points and 11 assists.

Brittney Griner scored 21 points in her first victory with the Dream (1-1), and Howard made four 3-pointers and scored 20. Brionna Jones added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Allisha Gray had 16 points and six assists.

Aaliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell each scored 24 points for the Fever (1-1), who trailed 76-65 at the start of the fourth quarter. Boston, who also had 10 rebounds, made a free throw to give Indiana a 90-89 advantage with 21.7 seconds left — its first lead since 2-0.

After Rhyne Howard put the Dream back on top, Natasha Howard had two chances to win it in the closing seconds, but her first shot near the rim was blocked by Nia Coffey. Natasha Howard chased down the rebound but her 12-foot jumper clanked off the rim.

Another near-capacity crowd, which included two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson, saw a physical contest that looked like it could turn into a rout when Atlanta pulled out to a 67-53 lead late in the third quarter.

But Indiana cut the deficit to 80-76 on Clark’s back-to-back 3s, the second from 30 feet with 7:28 to go.

The Dream led 89-80 with 4:09 to play, but Indiana’s defense dug in. Mitchell made a 3, Clark followed with a layup and then assisted on Boston’s layup, and Mitchell tied it with 1:04 left.

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The teams will play again Thursday night at Atlanta.