LOS ANGELES — For nearly 38 minutes, all Caitlin Clark could do was fail.
It was not what the record-breaking, sold-out crowd, dotted with Clark jerseys in the colors of Indiana Fever and the hues of Iowa, had come to witness.
Clark had scored just five points and watched in frustration as all seven of his 3-point attempts crashed off the rim. Then, with 2:24 left in the game and the winless Fever clinging to a 3-point lead against the Los Angeles Sparks, Clark stepped back from well beyond the 3-point line (33 feet to be exact) and finally found the back of the net.
“I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I seriously believe that every shot I take is going to go in,” Clark said. “Some nights they're absolutely incredible and other nights you struggle to make them a little bit, but I want to make those shots at the end of the game. I think it's a mindset and a confidence that you have to have in yourself.”
After an entire game of unusual misses from deep, Clark's first attempt caused a familiar face to smile a knowing smile at the opposing crowd.
She wasn't done.
With less than a minute remaining and the Fever now only two ahead, Clark stopped again, this time from 28 feet, and whistled. The No. 1 overall pick once again addressed the crowd with a smile and a Michael Jordan-style shrug. The shot sealed a 78-73 victory, giving Clark and the Fever their first win of the season.
“We've been really close,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “We just stayed balanced.”
In a major matchup between Clark and No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink, Clark would need all of his confidence. Friday's game was his worst as a professional, but what he lacked in scoring, Clark made up for in almost every other aspect of his game.
“He made some big shots but he did everything we needed him to do,” Sides said. “She's really focused on helping us, getting better defensively. [end]. I'm very proud of his energy.”
For most of the first half, Clark was bewildered by the Sparks' defense, unable to get into a rhythm. The Fever went to the locker room down 11 points after shooting 39% from the field and 22% from three.
But in the second half, Clark adjusted. He kept shooting and missing, but he also made his mark on the game by grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds, eight assists (including some dazzling passes through tight windows) and grabbing a team-high four steals.
Clark said after the game that despite the 0-5 start, she has felt more comfortable in her last few games. She said it's been helpful to remind herself that “it's not just about scoring,” but how she can impact the game in other ways.
“I thought I played a really good game besides [shooting]”Whether I was rebounding or finding my teammates, I thought I was very active on defense, so I didn't let that bother me, and that's something I'm really proud of.”
If Clark found ways to make his presence felt on what was mostly a bad night, then it was his teammates who carried the load on the scoring front. Aliyah Boston shot 57% from the field and scored 17 points, Kelsey Mitchell had a team-high 18 points, and Temi Fagbenle added 17 off the bench. Clark's defense, along with the rest of the Fever's efforts in that regard, limited the Sparks to 11 points in the third quarter.
After the Fever erased the Sparks' 11-point halftime lead with an 11-0 run, the game went back and forth as both teams struggled to advance and stay ahead. With time running out in the fourth quarter and the lead swinging back and forth, it became clear that Clark's passing, defense and rebounding wouldn't be enough. A victory would require her to do what she does best, what the crowd in attendance had come to see her do: score.
Clark said he knew it was only a matter of time before gunshots started falling.
“To be honest, I went to the bench after saying, 'I had to go in,'” Clark said of his two late 3-pointers. “I had missed a lot of them during the game. It was time for them to come in.”
With just two moments, Clark's tough play suddenly transformed into a highlight early in his career. As he waved to the Los Angeles crowd that stayed after the buzzer to give him a standing ovation, the scene was a reminder that even though he's playing in a new league and for a new team, Clark can still put on a show.
“It's been a whirlwind,” said Clark, now six games into her WNBA career. “This is my job, this is what I love to do, but I never want to lose the fun of the game, and nights like this remind me why I love playing basketball.”
