Caitlin Clark's worst side emerges just before playoffs, raising worst-case fears for Indiana Fever

Indiana had spent much of the final week building momentum for the WNBA playoffs. By halftime Thursday, almost all of it was gone.

The Fever were blown out 86-66 by the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in their regular-season finale, falling to the No.6 seed and setting up a first-round series against A’ja Wilson and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces .

Caitlin Clark endured the worst scoring night of her WNBA career, finishing with two points on 1-of-12 shooting in just 18 minutes. She missed all seven of her 3-point attempts and added four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Minnesota had already built a 62-32 halftime lead, effectively ending the game as a contest and prompting Indiana to scale back minutes in the second half.

Clark misses history as Fever offense disappears

The timing made Clark ’s struggles even more striking. She entered the game 11 points short of becoming the first player in WNBA history to reach 900 points and 300 assists in a single season.

Instead, she finished well short of the milestone after Indiana’s offense stalled against Minnesota.

The performance was a sharp reversal from Tuesday, when the Fever beat the Lynx 96-77 and briefly appeared to be gathering real momentum heading into the postseason. Indiana did still get one record-breaking moment.

Kelsey Mitchell hit her 135th 3-pointer of the season, moving past Rhyne Howard ’s previous single-season mark of 134. Mitchell led the Fever with 10 points, though her remarkable streak of 20-point games ended at 27.

Washington win pushes Indiana down to sixth

The playoff consequences became clear once the Washington Mystics beat the Chicago Sky 101-93. That left Washington and Indiana tied at 28-16, but the Mystics owned the tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-1.

Washington therefore moved into the No.5 seed and will face Atlanta , while Indiana dropped to sixth and drew Las Vegas . That's a far tougher opening assignment than the Fever might have expected entering the final week.

The loss itself may not be Indiana’s biggest problem. Starting center Aliyah Boston was ruled out in the third quarter with a right lower-leg injury, while guard Ty Harris had to be carried off the court after suffering an apparent leg injury.

Indiana hadn't provided full details on either injury immediately after the game, leaving both players’ playoff status uncertain. The Fever now head into Sunday’s postseason opener trying to regroup from their worst loss of the season while preparing for Wilson and a Las Vegas team defending its title.

Clark ’s off night was dramatic, but the larger concern is what comes next. Indiana’s season is still alive. Its margin for error just got much smaller.