Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) holds off Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) as she drives in the second half of a WNBA basketball playoff game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 19 points and made four 3-pointers while Aliyah Boston added 15 points to lead the Indiana Fever past third-seeded Atlanta Dream 77-60 on Tuesday night to extend their best-of-three series.

Game 3 will be Thursday in Atlanta, which hasn’t won a playoff series since 2016. Indiana’s last series win came in 2015.

Natasha Howard added 12 points and five rebounds. Mitchell also had four assists and Boston finished with five rebounds and three assists.

Te-Hina Paopao scored 11 points off the bench to lead the Dream, and Rhyne Howard added 10. The Dream fell 25 points short of their regular-season per game average. Allisha Gray added nine points and seven rebounds despite playing through foul trouble and clashing briefly with two fans in the front row midway through the fourth quarter. Both fans were escorted out of the arena by security.

The Fever hosted their first playoff game since 2016 and fed off the energy of another sellout crowd to earn their first postseason win since Oct. 11, 2015, when they beat the Minnesota Lynx 75-69.

It was a stark turnaround from Game 1.

As both teams battled serious foul trouble, Atlanta couldn’t get the stops it needed — and the Fever took full advantage with its first wire-to-wire playoff win since 2002.

Injury-riddled Indiana started fast, using a 10-2 spurt midway through the first half to take a 30-19 lead, only to see Atlanta cut the halftime deficit to 35-29 courtesy of Gray’s 3-pointer to close the second quarter — the Dream’s first 3 of the game.

Atlanta continued to rally early in the second half, closing to 40-37 midway through the third quarter.

But behind the tandem of Mitchell and Boston, Indiana answered with seven straight points, closed the quarter on another 7-0 run and opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 spurt to make it 67-44. The blowout allowed Mitchell and Boston to get some extra rest down the stretch.

STORM 86, ACES 83

SEATTLE (AP) — Skylar Diggins scored 26 points, including a jumper in the lane with 4.2 seconds left, Nneka Ogwumike had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Seattle Storm forced a deciding Game 3 with an 86-83 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night.

Seattle won its first playoff game since 2022. The Storm will play at Las Vegas on Thursday for a spot in the WNBA semifinals.

Las Vegas had closed the season on a 16-game winning streak, before winning Game 1 on Sunday.

The Storm trailed 79-70 before closing on a 16-4 run.

Dominique Malonga was fouled while making a layup in transition with 31 seconds left and she made the free throw to give Seattle its first lead, 84-83, since it was 37-36. Chelsea Gray had a turnover at the other end trying to find Jackie Young in the lane.

Ogwumike took an inbounds pass with 27.7 seconds left and held the ball near midcourt until giving it to Diggins with about 14 to go. Diggins drove into the lane and sank a shot near the free-throw line for a three-point lead.

Las Vegas had a chance to tie it at the buzzer but Jewell Loyd’s 3-pointer hit off the right side of the rim.

Malonga finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Erica Wheeler also scored 11 for Seattle.

Young led Las Vegas with 25 points. A’ja Wilson had 21 points and 13 rebounds for her 22nd playoff double-double.

Ogwumike scored 11 points in the first quarter, Diggins added 15 points in the second and Seattle was within 45-44 at the break after closing on a 7-0 run. Diggins sank a 3-pointer with 51.4 seconds left following her steal, and she added two free throws at 32.3.

Diggins had just 12 points in Seattle’s loss on Sunday in the series opener, and Ogwumike had 11.