Caitlin Clark Escapes WNBA Suspension After Fever Win As 24-Year-Old Guard’s Smart Play Provides Major Relief

Caitlin Clark won't be sitting out any games this postseason. Indiana beat Minnesota 96-77 on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and buried in that blowout is a bit of housekeeping that matters more to the Fever than the final score does.

Clark came into the night tied for the league lead in technical fouls. One more and she'd have been staring down an automatic suspension, with Indiana's playoff push already sitting a game behind the fourth-seeded Dream.

Caitlin Clark Dodges WNBA Suspension After Indiana Fever Win

Caitlin Clark has spent much of the season living dangerously close to a suspension. The three-time All-Star entered Tuesday's game tied for the league lead in technical fouls with seven, level with Angel Reese and Kahleah Copper. Under WNBA rules, an eighth technical would have triggered an automatic one-game ban, a scenario that would have hit Indiana at the worst possible time.

Clark kept her composure through 33 minutes of work and finished the night without picking up a technical. The technical foul count resets once the playoffs begin, so Clark is now clear of suspension risk no matter what happens in Thursday's regular-season finale at Target Center. Even a technical in that rematch with the Lynx won't cost her games in the postseason.

Indiana still has work to do to secure a spot. The Fever need a win in Minnesota on Thursday, and they need Reese and the Atlanta Dream to lose to the New York Liberty on Wednesday, to have any shot at climbing into the fourth seed and grabbing home-court advantage for the first round.

How Many Points Did Caitlin Clark Score Against the Minnesota Lynx?

Clark put up a game-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting, adding seven rebounds, nine assists, four steals and three threes across 33 minutes on the floor. It was the kind of complete line that has become close to routine for her this season, and it helped Indiana build a first-half cushion that ballooned to 29 points before Minnesota clawed back.

Kelsey Mitchell added 20 points and four assists, stretching her own league record to 27 consecutive games scoring 20 or more, hitting the mark with a three-pointer inside the final three minutes. Aliyah Boston chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, while Sophie Cunningham scored 11 off the bench and Makalya Timpson added eight.

Minnesota's Chloe Bibby scored all 15 of her points from beyond the arc, and Liatu King put up 12, but the Lynx were playing without rookie Olivia Miles, who was scratched with a calf injury after breaking Clark's single-season scoring record just two days earlier. Coach Cheryl Reeve also pulled her starters for much of the second half once the game got out of hand, choosing to protect her roster over chasing a comeback that never fully arrived.

Both teams close the regular season Thursday in Minneapolis, with Indiana's playoff seeding and the Lynx's push for the top seed both still hanging in the balance.