Tensions reached fever pitch during Indiana’s playoff victory Thursday night as Aliyah Boston shoved an opponent to the court.
The No 6 Indiana Fever advanced to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs in a major upset over the No 3 Atlanta Dream thanks to a narrow victory in the elimination game. It marked the team’s first playoff series win since 2015.
Boston made the go-ahead basket with 7.4 seconds left of the 87-85 Game 3 win. However, she found herself in the spotlight earlier in the clash for completely different reasons.
The center was slapped with a technical after she got embroiled in a heated altercation with Dream forward Bri Jones.
Tempers flared when the two rivals got tangled up while fighting for positioning and Boston appeared to take issue with the way Jones seemed to have locked her arm up.
She responded by removing the contact from Jones – with force. Using her shoulder, Boston shoved her opponent, who hit the deck hard.
Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston shoved Atlanta Dream forward Bri Jones to the ground
Boston went on to score the go-ahead basket in the 87-85 Game 3 victory for the Fever
The Fever advanced to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs without injured Caitlin Clark
The officials reviewed the play, assessing Boston with a technical foul, while Jones was hit with a personal foul, her fourth of the night.
Boston shrugged off the heated moment to come up clutch for the Fever, who were one again without the sidelined Caitlin Clark.
Despite missing Clark among its injured players, Indiana closed on a 7-0 run to win a playoff series for the first time since 2015. The sixth-seeded Fever will play on Sunday against the winner of Thursday´s other Game 3 between Seattle and Las Vegas.
Boston was left alone under the basket for an easy layup after Jones, of all players, went to the ground going for a loose ball. It gave Indiana an 86-85 lead, its first since it was 33-30 in the second quarter.
Rhyne Howard twice had trouble inbounding the ball in the final seconds, with Hull coming from behind to poke it away from Jones. Indiana got it to Odyssey Sims, who went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to give Atlanta another shot with 1.2 left. Jones’ off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 24 points and Boston had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Sims had 16 points and eight assists, and Natasha Howard added 12 points.
Allisha Gray had 19 points and 12 rebounds for her first playoff double-double to lead Atlanta. Jordin Canada also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and Jones had 12.
