BROOKLYN — The Indiana Fever struggled their way through their 11th game in 20 days Sunday night, falling to the New York Liberty, 104-68.

Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith were bright spots for the Fever, scoring 21 and 17 points, respectively. No other Fever player scored more than seven.

'I just want to sleep in.' After 11 games in 20 relentless days, Fever need a reset

More: Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston got hurt late in blowout loss. Here's why they were still in.

Indiana will now have an extended break before returning to play on the road against the Washington Mystics on Friday.

Here are three observations:

Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark leave game early

Fever rookie Caitlin Clark checked out of the game for good at the 6:29 mark of the game, sitting on the bench for a short time with trainers looking at her ear before heading back to the locker room.

Just minutes later, the Fever's other No. 1 pick headed back to the locker room as well.

With five minutes left in the game, second-year center Aliyah Boston fell over Liberty backup forward Leonie Fiebich to the ground, clutching what looked to be her right knee.

Fever coach: Flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark was 'non-basketball play.'

Her teammates on the floor instantly surrounded her as she held her knee, staying down for a short time. She eventually got up and limped to the sideline, walking under her own power. Boston met with athletic trainer Todd Champlin on the sideline and eventually limped to the locker room. Officials reviewed the play for a potential upgrade on Fiebich, but it was ruled a common foul.

Clark returned to the bench with just under two minutes left in the game, but Boston stayed in the locker room through the end of the game.

Fever finish unprecedented, front-loaded schedule

After 19 grueling days, the Fever have played over 25% of their games in 14.8% of the 128-day season. Indiana became the second team since 2007 to start the season with 11 games in 20 days, joining the 2011 Washington Mystics (who went 1-10 in that span).

This young team, which has only one player in the starting lineup with more than four years of experience, was thrown into the fire.

These 11 games also featured three against the WNBA Finals runner-up Liberty and two against the undefeated Connecticut Sun. While exhausting, the Fever have taken a positive approach to this schedule, maintaining that these games have been crucial learning moments for them, and it will aid them later in the season

If there's any other consolation for the Fever, this means they will have added rest for games later in the season. They have 29 games left to spread over 109 days, which includes a 24-day league-wide break for the Olympics in July and August.

Sluggish start dooms Fever

In the seconds after the Liberty won the tip Sunday night, the Fever were already working from a deficit. Liberty forward and reigning MVP Breanna Stewart caught the ball in the frontcourt, turned around, and put in a layup before the Fever even had time to react.

The Fever were down 7-0 to start the game. Then, it was 20-4. To end the first quarter, it was 31-13.

Yes, the Fever were sluggish — playing the second game of a back-to-back and 11th game in 19 days, their reaction times were not as crisp and quick as usual. New York used that to its advantage.

While the Fever started to recover in the second quarter, the damage was already done: New York shot 56% from the field in the first 10 minutes (13-of-23) while the Fever went 5-of-18. It ended up being a deficit that the Fever could not claw their way out of.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

Clark had the lowest-scoring game of her career so far, scoring just three points. She went 1-of-10 from the field, which included 1-of-7 from 3-point range, and added two rebounds and five assists. She ended up playing 29 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever blown out by NY Liberty, Caitlin Clark leaves game early