Caitlin Clark's historic double-double helps Fever force Game 3 with win over Aces

The Indiana Fever picked up a 99-89 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night to force Game 3 of their WNBA first-round playoff series, and Caitlin Clark made history in the process.

Indiana was led by Clark, Aliyah Boston , and Kelsey Mitchell , who all finished with more than 20 points each and combined for 75 points as a trio. They combined for only 45 in Game 1.

Clark had a double-double in the first half with 14 points and 11 assists, marking the first time in WNBA history that a player had a points-assists double-double in the first half of a playoff game.

Las Vegas won the first game of the series in dominant fashion, but had no answer for Indiana's paint presence in Game 2. Fifty-eight of the Fever 's total points came from inside the paint, compared to 26 for the Aces.

In the Game 1 loss, Indiana still had more paint points than Las Vegas, 36-34, but it was a combination of paint offense and paint defense that helped spur the Game 2 victory to even the series.

Part of the paint dominance came from second-chance points. The Fever had 11 offensive rebounds, helping keep possessions alive. Alternatively, the Aces had only seven offensive boards.

Las Vegas took an early first-quarter lead, but Indiana immediately fought back. The Fever outscored the Aces 30-17 in the second quarter and 24-17 in the third quarter, building a cushion. The early effort helped give Indiana some wiggle room as Las Vegas tried to claw its way back.

It didn't help that the Fever had to finish the game without their star guard. Clark fouled out with 2:45 left in the game while guarding A'ja Wilson in the paint. The Aces used that momentum shift to pull within five, but it was too little, too late for a possible comeback.

The winner-take-all series finale will be held on Thursday back in Las Vegas.

Clark appeared to disagree with the officiating throughout much of the first half. It didn't feel consistent, but the Fever star let her emotions get the best of her. She was having a rough half, with five early turnovers, but then got whistled for a foul she took exception to.

The Indiana guard jawed and waved her arms toward the officials, which got the foul upgraded to a technical.

After that, Clark was locked in. She shot better from the field and didn't commit a single turnover in the second half.

But she continued to pick up fouls and earned her sixth with 2:45 left. Had the Aces pulled off the comeback, that would have been a huge factor, but with the win, Clark and her teammates will turn their attention to using this momentum heading into Thursday's series finale.

Wilson, who finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, was fouled by Sophie Cunningham in the fourth quarter. Afterward, the Aces star was walking down the lane toward the baseline and a fan in the crowd grabbed her attention. Wilson was incensed by whatever the fan did or said and stepped into the crowd , pointing and yelling.

When the dust settled, the fan was removed, and Wilson was assessed a technical foul. Later the fan returned to his seat and was reportedly met with applause from those around him.

After the game, Wilson addressed the situation.

"If I see a man come at me, taking steps toward me and pointing at me, I don't give a damn what you said. I don't give a damn how you said it, the tone, that is unacceptable," Wilson said after the game. "You don't know me to step toward me and point at me. I'm not for that s*** at all … That there is unacceptable. How he gets back in the game because they said he didn't do anything, of course he did."

The Fever released a statement on the fan interaction: "Following a report of a comment directed toward a player, arena security spoke with the fan involved and witnesses. Security determined there was no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct, the fan was not removed from the arena. We consider the matter closed."