Aliyah

Boston

After Boston took 13 free throws in Game 4, the officials were less forgiving to the Fever’s center in Game 5. She got into foul trouble in the second quarter getting called for three fouls in that quarter alone. Then during the third quarter Boston picked up two more. She ended up fouling out with just 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter right after the Fever had tied the score at 84. Boston’s contributions mostly happened on the glass where she was responsible for 40% of the Fever’s total rebounds.

Mitchell made a three-pointer with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter when her leg collided funny with Aces Forward A’ja Wilson. Once the Fever got to their next offensive possession, Mitchell drove and the whistle blew charging her teammate Aliyah Boston with an offensive foul. After that call Mitchell fell to the ground and was down for a while in a lot of pain and took a while to get up. At one point a stretcher came onto the floor to help her up, but she was able to leave with two staffers helping her get to the locker room. In Mitchell’s place, Shey Peddy has played in extended minutes in addition to Aerial Powers.

After struggling with her shot and only attempting two free throws in Indiana’s Game 3 defeat on Friday, Boston was far more aggressive with the Fever’s season on the line two days later. She attempted nine free throws in the third quarter alone, carrying most of the offensive workload for the Fever. Boston answered the call, recording a robust stat line and bringing the aggression needed to extend Indiana’s season. She’ll need to take that effort on the road for Tuesday’s winner-take-all Game 5 in Las Vegas.

Boston’s presence was felt on the defensive end on Friday, despite tallying only two stocks. The third-year center battled with A’ja Wilson throughout the night and made life difficult for the 2025 MVP, who at one point was shooting 1-of-12 from the floor. However, Boston had her own difficulties on the other end of the floor — she shot inefficiently for the second time this series and finished as the team’s leader in turnovers. A repeat of Friday’s defensive performance will help the Fever in Game 4, but she’ll likely need to find more offensive production along the way if they want to extend their season.

Howard was someone who was expected to step up especially after she scored just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting against the Fever on Tuesday night. While her scoring total increased, she wasn’t very efficient and took questionable shots instead of trying to find the best shot for her team. With the Dream up just a point with 28.8 seconds remaining in regulation, Howard decided to take a three-pointer rather than trying to run off the clock before trying to extend the Dream’s lead. That Howard miss set up an Aliyah Boston rebound followed by Boston scoring at the rim on the other end, which was the score that won the Fever the game and the series.

Sims was really aggressive getting down hill and like Kelsey Mitchell challenged the Dream’s ability to protect the rim. Besides her scoring, Sims distributed the ball at a really high level. She led the Fever in assists with eight and was excellent at feeding the Fever’s front court tandem in Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard. Sims had the game winning assist where she found the Dream defense sleeping at the wheel near the rim. After the Fever bobbled the ball a bit, Sims passed the ball to Boston for a wide open layup right at the rim to help the Fever survive and advance on to the semifinals.

Mitchell began the game firing on all cylinders scoring 11 points on five shots during the opening quarter. She would score 19 points out of her total 24 in the first half and found ways the split the Dream defense and slash to take advantage of Brionna Jones’ limitations as a defender. Mitchell also made all of her three-pointers in the first half as the Dream weren’t able to fight over the screens Mitchell’s teammates set for her. But the Dream did adjust to Mitchell in the second half as she was much less efficient in the final two quarters and scored just 4 points. Although 2 of those points came in clutch time when the Fever were down 5 points with a bit over two minutes left in regulation. Mitchell challenged Jones at the rim once again on a dribble handoff assist from Aliyah Boston and got the Fever down just one score.

Boston and the Fever are headed back to Atlanta for a decisive Game 3 on Thursday, thanks to a dominant defensive effort. The Dream scored no more than 16 points in any period, and Indiana’s 24-15 third gave them the momentum needed to close out the win. After shooting 3-of-9 from the field in Game 1, Boston was far more efficient on Tuesday, even knocking down a three-pointer. And she had ample help on the boards, with six Fever players grabbing at least four rebounds. More offense from Boston, as was the case on Tuesday, and another gang rebounding effort will be required of Indiana to win Game 3.

While Boston dealt with foul trouble, she managed to log 34 minutes on Sunday in the Fever’s Game 1 loss. Although she wasn’t greatly impactful as a scorer, Boston had her usual impact as a facilitator and finished as the team’s leader in assists. The former first-overall pick also dominated the glass for a game-high in rebounds. Yet, the Fever will presumably need more scoring production from Boston in Game 2 if they hope to extend the series — she finished as one of three starters to score fewer than 10 points.