Indiana Fever vs. Portland Fire WNBA preview and prediction
The league’s best offence is on a scoring tear, and Indiana hopes to continue its recent run when the Fever travel to Portland to face the Fire on Friday at 10 p.m. ET.
The Fever have won four straight, averaging 111.5 points in those contests. They have topped 100 points a league-record 12 times this season.
Caitlin Clark had 32 points and seven assists while Kelsey Mitchell added 28 points as Indiana dropped Seattle on Tuesday, 105-95. It was the 12th straight game Mitchell has scored 20 or more points, which is a franchise record.
Portland, like fellow expansion franchise Toronto, is slipping. The Fire have dropped three straight and eight of 11 to fall 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot.
Megan DiLeo had 20 points and six rebounds, and Frieda Buhner added 16 points as Portland fell to reigning WNBA-champion Las Vegas on Tuesday, 98-83.
This is the third and final time these teams will meet in the regular season. Both teams previously won at home in May.
Indiana Fever vs. Portland Fire WNBA Odds and Betting Trends
Indiana is a -8.5 road favourite on the WNBA odds and is -340 on the moneyline. The Fire are at +220, while the over/under for this contest is 188.5.
The Fever are 7-3 against the spread and have played to the over eight times in their last 10 games. Portland is 7-3 ATS while playing to the over seven times in their past 10 games.
Indiana Fever
Despite the 10-point win over the Storm on Tuesday, Indiana received a massive scare when four-time All-Star Aliyah Boston left the game in the second quarter with a lower leg injury after a hard fall. She had 11 points and two rebounds at the time.
Boston is averaging 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds and is the inside threat in Indiana’s three-headed scoring monster. Her durability – she has only missed three games in her career – is just as impressive as her production.
Boston is listed as questionable on Friday, as is Clark (back) and Monique Billings (left hip), who had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win on Tuesday.
The teams shot 54 per cent (13-of-24) from long range against the Storm, and Clark led the way with four three-pointers. When the Fever are hitting like that from outside, forget about it.
Portland Fire
The Fire are a cumulative team without a superstar. They have five players averaging between 9.1 and 15.2 points, so when one of them goes down, as Sarah Ashlee Barker did last week with a torn ACL, the repercussions are both magnified and absorbed.
Barker was averaging 10.7 points and 4.5 rebounds while playing nearly 25 minutes a game at the time of her injury, so her loss is going to sting. However, the team has created an environment where supporting pieces like Buhner can step up and contribute more.
Portland’s recent drop is perplexing, but look just beyond the record. The team has only played at home twice since June 17. The Fire lost both games, but they were against Las Vegas and Dallas – two of the top four teams in the league – by a combined 11 points.
WNBA Prediction: Who will win Fever vs. Fire?
The Fire handled Indiana in Portland at the end of May, 100-84. Clark had one of her worst outings of the season with six points. Don’t look for those subpar numbers again.
Take Indiana to win, but the Fire to cover, as the Fever take the season series with a 102-94 victory.