Caitlin Clark was struggling. Then she hit two huge 3s to lift Indiana Fever to first win

It’s been a long time coming. Coach Christie Sides has preached patience with her young team over the first two weeks of the season. They were playing against highly-experienced, veteran teams to begin the season.

The Fever were steadily improving, and the wins would come eventually. Finally for the Fever, it did in Los Angeles on Friday night.

Indiana led by four points, 73-69, with a minute left in the game. The Sparks cut it to two with a layup, but Caitlin Clark ran down the court to do what she did best: drain a 3-pointer. It put the Fever up five points, eliciting a raucous cheer in the road arena.

Aliyah Boston tipped the ball out of range on the Sparks’ next miss, and Kristy Wallace grabbed the rebound.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, left, passes around Sparks guard Layshia Clarendon.

The Fever’s win was a culmination of clutch moments, ranging from Clark’s 3-pointer to Boston’s tip. It was what Sides had been emphasizing in late-game moments since her team came together almost a month ago. Eventually, it all came together.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

Caitlin Clark had her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She came close to a triple-double, dishing out eight assists. However, she struggled with her shot for most of the game.

But she hit two clutch 3s late in the game to seal her first WNBA win. With the Fever up 69-66 and the Sparks threatening, Clark nailed a deep 3 with 2:30 left.

Then with 40 seconds left and the Fever up two, she drilled a step-back 3 to give Indiana the breathing room it needed to secure the win. It’s what Fever fans have been waiting for. She saved it for Hollywood.

She finished 4-of-14 shooting and 2-of-9 from behind the arc, but filled up the stat sheet.

Aliyah Boston starts to return to form

Second-year center Aliyah Boston had a lot of pressure to start the season. She was coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign and starting her sophomore season by going up against some of the best centers in the league in Connecticut’s DeWanna Bonner and New York’s Breanna Stewart.

After averaging 14.5 points per game last season, she didn’t reach that number in any of the Fever’s first five games. She only scored four points in Indiana’s game against Seattle on Wednesday, sitting for 15 minutes.

On Friday, she started to return to form. Going up against rookie center Cameron Brink, Boston started to dominate in the paint again with a team-high eight points at halftime. She drew a fourth foul on Brink early in the third quarter, forcing the rookie to sit for a significant time. Indiana started to close the gap while Brink was out, outscoring Los Angeles 19-11 in the third quarter.

Boston finished the game with a season-high 17 points, as well as six rebounds.

Temi Fagbenle provides spark off bench (again)

Backup forward Temi Fagbenle came to the Fever on a training camp contract, but she’s quickly ingrained herself as a pivotal person in the rotation — sometimes even getting more minutes than the starting frontcourt.

Fagbenle has been a crucial spark off the bench for the Fever. She has helped Indiana keep its games close, providing 11 points and 10 rebounds in her first career double-double in the Fever’s 88-84 loss to Connecticut on Monday, then played 27 minutes with eight points on Wednesday.

Sides elected to play Fagbenle over starting forward NaLyssa Smith for the entirety of the third quarter — Smith had three fouls, but Fagbenle had also proved herself to be more defensively sound. Throughout the fourth quarter, Smith and Boston rotated in the frontcourt instead of Fagbenle.