Fever in familiar spot without Caitlin Clark after Aces blowout

Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern.

The Indiana Fever now have won all three games they have played without superstar Caitlin Clark this season -- and Sunday's victory was the most impressive yet.

The Fever stormed into Michelob Ultra Arena and left with an 84-68 win over the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.

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Granted, the Aces were shorthanded as well: four-time MVP A'ja Wilson missed the game as she continued to recover from an ankle injury.

But the Fever's dominant win proved that Indiana has adapted to playing without Clark, having played much of the 2025 season without the three-time All-Star.

Indiana had to play 39 of 52 games last season without Clark as she dealt with numerous soft tissue injuries. Though the Fever's 20-19 record in those 39 games didn't necessarily leap off the page, Indiana reached the WNBA semifinals without Clark, leaning instead on the efforts of Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell before eventually bowing out to the Aces in five games.

Though Clark has been largely healthy this season, she has missed three games as she manages back pain. The Fever is 3-0 in those games. All three wins have come by at least 16 points, and all have been characterized by stout team defense and highly-efficient offense.

The Indiana Fever just got their first ever regular season W in Las Vegas 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/CMofWjFe8k

On Sunday, the Fever held the Aces to 40 percent shooting from the field and limited a top-five 3-point shooting team to just four makes from behind the arc. Las Vegas scored only 27 points after halftime, as Indiana dominated the glass with 13 offensive rebounds and committed just seven turnovers.

Three Fever players scored in double digits, led by Kelsey Mitchell's 27 points, while Sophie Cunningham drilled three 3-pointers. Cunningham ranks eighth in the WNBA with a 42.9 percentage from 3-point land, while All-Star starter Mitchell is third in the league in scoring at 21.9 points per game.

The win took the Fever to 12-8 on the season and made a compelling case that Indiana's whole is greater than the sum of its parts -- even the franchise player.

More WNBA news:

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• Caitlin Clark breaks her silence and asks Fever, WNBA fans to do better amid Alyssa Thomas incident

• Fever's Caitlin Clark now knows exactly how WNBA players feel about her amid All-Star voting results

• Dream's Rhyne Howard inexplicably snubbed as WNBA All-Star starter