Aliyah Boston scores 24 as Fever beat Fire 90-73 without Caitlin Clark

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Aliyah Boston had 24 points and eight rebounds, Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points, and the Indiana Fever beat the Portland Fire 90-73 on Wednesday night with Caitlin Clark sidelined.

The Fever ruled Clark out with a back injury less than two hours before tipoff, her first missed game this season.

Lexie Hull added 16 points on a perfect shooting night — going 4 of 4 from the field, all 3-pointers, and 4 of 4 on free throws — and had eight rebounds for the Fever (3-2). Tyasha Harris made her first start for the Fever, in Clark’s place, and finished with seven assists, two steals and no turnovers, but was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting.

Boston returned after she missed a game for the first time in her career, an 89-78 home win over Seattle on Sunday.

Bridget Carleton scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half and Sug Sutton finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the expansion Fire (2-3).

Sarah Ashlee Barker made a midrange jumper that trimmed Portland's deficit to 32-30 with 5:46 left in the first half, but the Fever scored 21 of the next 28 points to take a 16-point lead at the end of second quarter. Indiana shot 55% (18 of 33) from the field, outscored the Fire 13-6 from the free-throw line, and had 13 assists in the first half.

The Fever led by double figures throughout the second half.

At the end of the third quarter, Portland’s Nyadiew Puoch struggled to put weight on her right leg as she was helped to the bench, then walked to the locker room and did not return. Puoch, a 21-year-old rookie who had scored in double figures in back-to-back games, was scoreless in 20 minutes.

Fire: At Toronto on Saturday.

Fever: Host Golden State on Friday.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball