PORTLAND — Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston were fueling the Indiana Fever offense early against the Portland Fire on Saturday.
Clark had three assists in three minutes, feeding Boston, who had four quick points off of two of Clark’s assists. Then, as the Fever were up 8-4, Clark and Boston checked out — just three minutes into the game. The Fire proceeded to go on a 13-2 run over the three minutes both of them were on the bench. When they checked back in together at the 3:38 mark of the first quarter, Portland had flipped the game to a 17-10 lead.
So, why did the Fever’s last two No. 1 picks check out so early into the game? It comes down to substitution patterns and minutes restriction, Fever coach Stephanie White said.
“Well, AB is still in a minutes restriction, so that’s why she’s coming out,” White said when asked following the Fever’s 100-84 loss. “And that’s typically around the same time that we’ve taken Caitlin out before. We didn’t (take Clark out then) in Golden State because, quite honestly, we didn’t want Raven (Johnson) in that environment without another ball-handler on the floor, but that’s been our typical substitution patten.”
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Boston and Clark couldn’t stop the bleeding when they checked back in, either, and that 13-2 run turned into a 27-7 run over the rest of the first quarter.
Boston has been on a minutes restriction since the beginning of the season, as she came into training camp with a lower right leg injury from her Unrivaled season in February. White has previously talked about managing Clark’s load this season as well, especially as she’s coming off of the 2025 season in which she had four separate soft-tissue injuries.
Boston led the Fever with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes on Saturday, while Clark, whose minutes were limited because of foul trouble, had six points on 1-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston were substituted with Fever leading in loss to Fire
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
