Caitlin Clark, Fever preseason live updates: Indiana hosts Atlanta Dream as No. 1 pick plays her first home game

Great defense by Indiana on Atlanta's final possession to preserve a 83-80 win. Clark and Berger held it down on the perimeter.

It's Fever Close Game territory again. Clark, Smith, Boston, Samuelson and Berger out on the court for Indiana. Atlanta rolling with mostly bench players.

Indiana holds the 79-72 lead with 3:29 to go until it's the regular season.

Temi Fagbenle out here playing her way onto the final roster. Eight points and six rebounds in 15 minute for the Fever.

Clark is back in the game. Indiana leads 77-70 with 5:41 to play.

The best attended 2023 Fever game was against the Connecticut Sun when 7,356 came to the season opener to see No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston. It's about to be rocking at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this summer.

Announced attendance for the Fever's only home preseason game is 13,028. The Fever averaged 4,066 fans last year, the second-fewest in the league behind the Dream, according to Across the Timeline. Atlanta averaged 3,006 in an arena that holds about 3,500.

It's another tight preseason game for the Fever. Clark has 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. She's 33.3% overall and 22.2% from 3.

Smith is still at 19 points to lead all scorers. They're the only two double-digit scorers for Indiana, which hasn't added to the nine players it rotated in during the first quarter. Fever winning in the paint, 30-16.

Four Dream players are in double digits: Allisha Gray (10), Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (11), Tina Charles (10) and Rhyne Howard (13). Tanisha Wright has played 12 players tonight.

Goodness, leave Clark that wide open and she'll knock it down every single time. Atlanta lost her and Berger makes the pass for a 68-60 lead. Clark is at 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists.

NaLyssa Smith, Indiana's No. 2 pick in 2022, is having a big game with 19 points shooting 61.5% to lead all scorers. She's 2-of-3 from deep. Clark leads the team in playing time (21:46) and every starter except Wallace is playing most of the minutes for Indiana.

I think we'll see a lot of behind-the-back passes to Samuelson or Mitchell for 3s when Clark draws two defenders to the corner. The chemistry with everyone on the team to develop those types of plays will take time to lock into place.

Indiana runs out the starters to start the third quarter and Clark feeds Smith on an outlet pass for the first points and Indiana's first lead since the opening minutes.

Clark has eight points in 15:59 minutes of action. She played about seven minutes in the second quarter. She's 3-of-7 overall, 1-5 from 3, 1-1 at the line.

But could it be her first (unofficial) triple-double? She has four rebounds and four assists with only two turnovers.

The behind the back to Samuelson on the perimeter! Doesn't go, though. It's Samuelson's first WNBA action since Aug. 14, 2022.

I'm not sure Grace Berger was expecting that pass near the corner from Clark, but the Fever score a 3 off the possession anyway. Indiana cuts the Dream's 15-point lead to four, 49-45, with 2:29 until half.

There it is. Clark hits her first 3 of the game after four empty attempts.

The Dream lead, 30-24, after the first quarter. Atlanta finished a distant fifth in the standings last season at 19-21 after struggling down the stretch. It was the Dream's best season since 2018.

They are one of the teams that will compete with Indiana for the middle of the standings (5-8) and playoff positioning. Atlanta returns 2021 No. 1 overall pick Rhyne Howard (17.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.5 apg), Olympic 3x3 champion Allisha Gray (17.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.1 apg) and center Cheyenne Parker (15 ppg, 6.7 rpg). Tina Charles, a veteran all-WNBA center and Olympic gold medalist who did not play last year, signed in free agency still seeking her first WNBA championship.

Clark drew a second foul with 51 seconds left and hits the bench. Her first quarter line:

5 points (2-6 FG, 0-4 3FG, 1-1 FT), 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 turnover

Clark can burn a team in so many different ways. The first game, the 3-point shot was working for her. It's not tonight, so she's been attacking and feeding teammates. She has four assists in eight minutes.

Again, if there were hockey assists, Clark would rack 'em up. That pass to Smith at the free throw line that fed Fagbenle in the paintwon't show up in Clark's stat line, but *chef's kiss*.

First players off the bench are Lexie Hull, who started the first game, and Temi Fagbenle. Head coach Christie Sides said on a pre-game call with reporters she wanted to play with "several different lineups" tonight.

"We want to see some different players [and] different positions," Sides said. "I think that's one of our strengths is we we've got players that can play the 1, 2 [or] 3; the 2, 3 [or] 4. We just want to take a look at all that to see how that helps us [and is] an advantage for us."

The roster needs to be down to 12 on Monday. Teams can carry a minimum of 11, but Indiana likely won't because their younger players are on smaller salaries than a team full of established veterans who need to fit under the hard salary cap.

Two early misses from the perimeter for Clark. Her first points are a great take to the basket from a Boston handoff. She didn't do much of that in the first preseason game.

It's a different starting lineup than the Fever's first preseason game. Veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell (ankle) remains out

— Clark's first start at PG after starting at SG. Erica Wheeler started at PG in the first preseason game, but will come off the bench.

— Katie Lou Samuelson will play her first minutes with the Fever after signing in free agency. Samuelson did not play last season while on maternity leave

— Kristy Wallace moves into the starting lineup.

The 2024 WNBA preseason has officially begun! The short preseason tipped off last Friday with Caitlin Clark's preseason debut with the Indiana Fever vs. the Dallas Wings. The action continues this Thursday with Clark's first home game: Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever, streaming on WNBA League Pass at 7 p.m. ET. The preseason will come to a close on May 11, and the regular WNBA season tips off Tuesday, May 14, when Caitlin Clark will make her official WNBA season debut. But the high profile Indiana Fever rookie won’t be the only exciting new face on the court. The Fever also heads into the 2024 season with reigning Rookie of the Year, Aliyah Boston. Are you ready to watch the 2024 WNBA preseason? Here’s everything you need to know about how to tune into preseason games.