Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell lead the Fever past the Sparks, 87-78

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 24 points and nine assists, Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Los Angeles Sparks 87-78 on Wednesday night.

Clark's first 3-pointer, in seven attempts, came with 4:51 remaining in the fourth quarter to extend Indiana's lead to 78-63.

Los Angeles went on an 11-3 run, capped by a shot in the lane by Kelsey Plum, to pull within 83-76 with 1:23 left. After an Indiana turnover, Plum missed an open 3-pointer from the corner.

Clark found Mitchell on an inbounds pass for a layup to give Indiana an 85-76 lead with 33.2 left.

Sophie Cunningham added 12 points and Monique Billings had nine points and eight rebounds in her regular-season debut for Indiana (1-1). Aliyah Boston had four points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 3:32 left in the fourth. Myisha Hines-Allen reached 500 career assists.

Plum led Los Angeles (0-2) with 25 points and Dearica Hamby added 16. Cameron Brink had 11 points and three blocks, and Nneka Ogwumike and Rae Burrell each scored 10. Starter Ariel Atkins played 16 minutes before leaving with a head injury.

Indiana led 48-34 at halftime behind 17 points from Mitchell and 11 by Clark. Mitchell was 7 of 9 from the field to help the Fever shoot 56%.

Fever: Hosts Washington on Friday.

Sparks: At Toronto for back-to-back games against the Tempo beginning Friday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball