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Caitlin Clark still can’t buy a shot, but she looked more like her usual self Sunday as she continued her return from a groin injury that cost her another two weeks. She finished with 14 points, three rebounds, 13 assists and five steals in the Indiana Fever’s dominant 102-83 win over the Dallas Wings.
Clark’s 13 assists were a season-high and tied for the second-most she has had in a game in her career. She scored or assisted on 41 of the Fever’s 102 points, and now has 17 points-assists double-doubles. That is not only tied for the fifth-most such games all-time, but more than every other player in Fever history combined (11).
“I thought my playmaking was really good, there was no reason for me to really shoot that much,” Clark said. “I think we were just firing on all cylinders. Moving the ball well, getting to the next action, playing out of pick-and-roll well.”
WNBA players with most points-assists double-doubles
For the season, Clark is up to nine assists per game, which is good for second in the league and would be a career-high. Notably, she only had two turnovers Sunday, which tied a season-low. Clark has struggled with turnovers throughout her career, but has not has more than four in a game since her latest return from injury. Over these three games, Clark has 28 assists and eight turnovers, good for a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“Thirty assists on 40 made shots is about as good as it’s gonna get,” Clark said of the Fever’s 75% assist rate Sunday. “That’s really impressive and just shows the selflessness of this group. You’re just trying to find your teammate, get to the next action, give up a good shot for a great shot. Just really proud of this group and how we share the ball. It makes us really hard to guard.”
After yet another strong playmaking performance from the Fever and Clark, let’s rank her top five assists.
5. Pocket pass to Boston
Here, we’ll highlight one of Clark’s favorite feeds: the pocket pass. A few minutes into the second half, Clark pushed the pace and drew multiple defenders, then weaved her way back to the top of the key for a high pick-and-roll with Aliyah Boston — one of the Fever’s favorite actions. The Wings could not keep up with the activity and Clark found Boston on the short roll with a sharp pocket pass for a wide open mid-range jumper.
4. Drop off to Howard
Clark prefers to be out in transition, but she can make some magic happen in the halfcourt as well, especially when she has some space to operate. That was the case early in the second quarter when she beat rookie guard JJ Quinerly off the dribble and had a clear lane ahead of her. Wings center Teaira McCowan slid over to protect the paint, but in doing so left Natasha Howard completely uncovered. Clark read the situation and delivered a nifty drop-off bounce pass to her big.
3. Overhead whip to Howard
Clark’s final assist of the day was one of her best. The Fever went to another high pick-and-roll with Clark and Boston, and with the Wings in drop coverage, Clark was able to weave into the paint and draw Li Yueru. As soon as the Wings center stepped up, Clark whipped an overhead pass to Howard for an uncontested layup before the Wings could rotate.
2. Backdoor to Mitchell
The Fever love baseline cuts from the corner, and it didn’t take them long to get an easy basket from that action on Sunday. Just a few possessions into the game, Clark pushed the pace in semi-transition and dribbled toward Kelsey Mitchell, who cut behind her defender. Arike Ogunbowale was caught looking at the ball and Clark fired a wicked bounce pass to Mitchell for a layup.
1. Fullcourt outlet to Cunningham
Clark is not known for her defense, but she excelled on that end against the Wings. She tied her career-high with five steals and also had an emphatic block on Quinerly. That stuff immediately turned into points on the other end after Clark looked up and saw Sophie Cunningham sprinting ahead of the defense. Clark’s fullcourt outlet pass was perfect and floated right over Myisha Hines-Allen’s outstretched arm and into the hands of Cunningham for a layup.
It doesn’t get better than that.
