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Veteran guard Erica Wheeler said she had two words for the team’s social media department after the Indiana Fever’s 16-point comeback to beat the Atlanta Dream in overtime, 104-100: “Aliyah Boston.”
2024 No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark was a bit more expressive. “AB’s a dawg,” Clark said. “She’s all over the glass, came up with clutch buckets, tied it for us, solid in overtime. She’s just different.”
Between Clark’s historic rookie campaign and Kelsey Mitchell’s post-Olympic break surge, Boston has been a forgotten figure at times for the Fever. Not so on Sunday.
Boston was dominant in the paint, finishing with a career-high 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists on 11-of-16 from the field. She had 14 of her points (on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting) in the fourth quarter and overtime, including the game-tying bucket with 18 seconds to play in regulation and the go-ahead score in the extra frame. In the process she joined A’ja Wilson and Jewell Loyd as the only players with 30-point, 10-rebound, five-assist games this season.
It’s worth taking a closer look at Boston’s two biggest baskets of the game, as they emphasize how much defenses truly have to pick their poison against the Fever these days.
Here we are with time winding down in the fourth quarter. The Fever have the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, and to little surprise they go to a two-woman game with Clark and Boston at the top of the key. Boston sets a screen, Clark drives left and then pitches it back to her big and cuts back the other direction to turn it into a handoff. Both Dream defenders go with Clark, and Boston is able to put the ball on the deck and coast in for a layup.
“When you look at how they’re playing, you just have to be able to make the right read if they jump out too early because they’re assuming that something’s gonna happen,” Boston said. “Just being able to make a move right in that split second is important, because especially when you have someone like Caitlin, who could be getting the ball, they’re definitely gonna want to jump out on her. So just being able to read that and score.”
Later, with a minute to play in overtime and the score tied at 98-98, the Fever isolate Boston on the block. The Dream briefly send a double, but Boston kicks it out and reposts, at which point she’s allowed to play one-on-one. With shooters spaced around the floor, Boston has the entire paint to herself, and she’s too good of a low-post scorer in that scenario. After burying Lorela Cubaj under the basket, she turns for a soft jump hook.
Early in the season, the Fever struggled to get on the same page on the offensive end. Boston, in particular, had a tough time as the team adopted a high-paced, pick-and-rolly heavy approach. After a second “training camp” during the Olympic break, however, the team is firing on all cylinders, and defenses have to decide what they want to take away and what they’re willing to live with.
There have been multiple games since the restart in which Boston scored in single digits while Clark and Mitchell went off. On others, when teams have sent multiple players at Clark in ball screen actions, or let Boston play one-on-one in the post, she’s feasted.
The Fever are now 8-2 post-Olympics with a 110.4 offensive rating that is the best in the league in that span. They are still a young team with a lot of room to grow, particularly on the defensive end, but they are borderline unstoppable on offense these days, and that will make them dangerous come playoff time.
“I think we know that we’re very capable of beating any single team just because of the way we play, the pace that we play at, and the weapons that we have all around the floor” Boston said. “We’re in a good spot knowing that even if we’re down, no matter what time of that game it is, we’re very capable of coming back.”
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