BOSTON (AP) — Caitlin Clark struggled in her first-ever go to to Boston — a efficiency that didn’t appear to spoil the temper of the followers who stuffed TD Backyard on Tuesday evening for a uncommon WNBA sport within the residence of the Celtics and Bruins.
As an alternative of Fortunate the Leprechaun and the Boston Celtics’ iconic parquet, the Backyard flooring featured the logos of the WNBA and Connecticut Suns — the league’s solely New England workforce — as they hosted a sport in Boston for the second 12 months in a row.
Each have been sellouts of 19,156 — the most important crowds to see a basketball sport within the constructing’s historical past. And this 12 months, it was the visiting Indiana Fever and their breakout star that almost all of them had been there to see.
“It’s a great opportunity for people in the city, or fans around the area, to come and support a team here,” Clark mentioned earlier than the sport. “You don’t take these opportunities for granted. It’s always fun to go to a new arena in a new place and enjoy it.”
Followers sporting Clark’s No. 22 crowded towards the court docket earlier than the sport making an attempt to get her autograph, waving her jersey or do-it-yourself indicators begging for a selfie. Amongst these in attendance had been Celtics Jaylen Brown and Georges Niang, Bruins Jeremy Swayman and Mason Lohrei, Crimson Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
Clark scored 14 factors on 4 for 14 taking pictures, including seven assists and eight rebounds for the Fever, who pulled away within the fourth quarter to win 85-77. She dedicated considered one of her 5 turnovers on the Fever’s first possession and one other when she stepped on the sideline on the finish of the third quarter — guarded too carefully to launch considered one of her emblem 3-pointers.
She went 1 for 7 from past the arc and didn’t join on a 3 till she gave the Fever an 80-71 lead with three minutes left — their greatest lead of the sport.
Natasha Howard scored 18 factors with 13 rebounds for Indiana. Tina Charles had 21 factors and 11 rebounds for the Solar, who beat the Los Angeles Sparks in Boston in entrance of a sold-out crowd final 12 months however have stumbled to a 3-19 document this season — the worst within the league.
Clark mentioned earlier than the sport that she took time to understand the chance to play in a constructing the place a lot basketball lore had been written. The Iowa native mentioned she grew up respecting the Celtics as a company, regardless that she now counts herself an Indiana Pacers fan.
“The Celtics are one of the premier organizations of the NBA,” she mentioned. “And having won a championship two years ago now, it’s kind of cool to just be in this building and surround yourself with the greatness that has played in this arena.”
The Celtics gained all of it in 2024 taking pictures an NBA document variety of 3-pointers — one thing Clark, whose long-distance taking pictures made her a breakout star for the Hawkeyes and in her first two years within the WNBA, might recognize.
“I’m a Pacers fan. I just want to make that clear. But as I’ve been growing up, they’ve been a fun team to root for,” she mentioned. “They’re really fun to watch. They shoot a lot of 3s, which maybe people make an argument against. But for myself, I think that’s fun. I enjoy that. I think it’s a great style of basketball.”
Clark mentioned she had by no means been to Boston and would have appreciated to soak up a Crimson Sox sport at Fenway Park, however baseball is off for the All-Star break. She searched on TikTok for issues to do in Boston, however it must wait till subsequent time.
“It seems like an amazing city,” she mentioned. “I would love to come back here and explore a little bit more in the history of it and all the amazing things that you can do.”
That could possibly be some time, as a result of town that’s residence to an unprecedented 18 NBA championships doesn’t have a workforce within the WNBA; the Solar are the league’s sole consultant in New England, the birthplace of basketball.
Fever All-Star Aliyah Boston, a three-time Massachusetts Participant of the Yr whereas at Worcester Academy earlier than successful an NCAA championship at South Carolina, mentioned she believed her namesake city might assist a WNBA workforce.
“When you look at the atmosphere for the Celtics, when you look at the atmosphere for the two TD Garden games that now we’ve had, it’s been sold out. It’s been energy,” she mentioned. “They obviously have been great, and I think that’s going to be the same all the time.”
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