The Indiana Fever concluded the regular season in the nation's capital against the Washington Mystics with a wild 92-91 loss Thursday night. The Fever (20-2-) finished at least .500 for the first time since their last postseason appearance in 2016. Indiana is the No. 6 WNBA playoff seed (more on that here) and will play the Connecticut Sun in a best-of-three series. The Fever will travel to Connecticut with Game 1 set for 3 p.m. Sunday (ABC). Game 2, also in Connecticut, will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN).

On Thursday night, the Fever raced out to an 18-2 lead, but the Mystics playing for their playoff lives, fought back and took control of the game by halftime. The lead swelled in the second half before Christie Sides turned to her bench.

Kelsey Mitchell played just four minutes before sitting out the remainder of the game as a precaution. Caitlin Clark was pulled midway through the third quarter with the deficit rising and the reasoning for her still playing gone.

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Kristy Wallace led the way 17 points off the bench. NaLyssa Smith had 18. Caitlin Clark had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.

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FINAL: Mystics 92, Fever 91

Oh, my. Grace Berger had a shot to win in the final seconds, but was way off. What a comeback from the reserves in the final quarter with the Fever's starters getting a much-needed rest ahead of the playoffs.

Kristy Wallace led the way 17 points off the bench. NaLyssa Smith had 18. Caitlin Clark had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Mystics 92, Fever 91, 1:13 4th quarter

Yo, the Fever bench ain't messing around. And Kristy Wallace is on fire. The Aussie has 17 points and Indiana is back in this thing.

Mystics 89, Fever 79, 4:15 4th quarter

The Fever reserves have done a respectable job getting this deficit down. Kristy Wallace has 12 points off the bench and Katie Lou Samuelson has 10.

Mystics 82, Fever 66, end of 3rd quarter

We've probably seen the end of the regular season for Caitlin Clark, who was subbed out midway through the third quarter. No reason to play with playoffs beginning in a few days.

Clark finished with 8 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds.

Oh, and Grace Berger is getting some run.

Mystics 64, Fever 49, 6:30 3Q

As expected, no Kelsey Mitchell to start second half. Washington keeps foot on the gas, getting good production from former Fever draft pick Emily Engstler, who has 12 points.

HALFTIME: Mystics 52, Fever 45

Would you believe Indiana led 18-2 at one point? Washington is playing for its playoff life, while the Fever are locked into the No. 6 seed with nothing to play for in tonight's regular-season finale.

IndyStar Insider Chloe Peterson thinks we've seen the last of Kelsey Mitchell tonight, though Chloe thinks its just a precaution ahead of the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark has 8 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. NaLyssa Smith leads the Fever with 11 points. Aliyah Boston has 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting.

With Mitchell on the bench, we're seeing more of Kristy Wallace. Who knows? We may even get a Grace Berger sighting.

Kelsey Mitchell injury? It doesn't look too serious

IndyStar Insider Chloe Peterson is in D.C. and says there's no reason to panic. With Fever already locked into the No. 6 seed for the playoffs, no need to risk it. 41-39, Mystics in final minutes of the first half.

Mystics 34, Fever 31, 5:44 2nd quarter

Momentum has completely swung to the Mystics. Again, nothing on the line for Fever, so maybe we're seeing some of that during this swing.

Caitlin Clark is back in the game (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists).

Fever 24, Mystics 22, end of 1st quarter

Mystics closed the quarter on a 20-4 run after falling behind 18-2. Indiana was cooking, but the Mystics woke up.

NaLyssa Smith leads the Fever with eight points. Caitlin Clark has six points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Fever are locked into the No. 6 seed, so we may not see a lot of the starters tonight.

Fever on fire early, lead 20-7, 4:12 1Q

So much for taking your foot off the gas in the final regular season game. Indiana raced out to an 18-2 lead with 5:02 left in the first quarter.

Caitlin Clark has already hit two 3s (has six points) and NaLyssa Smith is a perfect 3-for-3 from the field with eight points.

When do the Indiana Fever play?

7 p.m. ET Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

What channel are the Indiana Fever vs Washington Mystics on?

TV: Amazon Prime Video, WTHR-13 in Indianapolis

Streaming: Fubo (free trial), WNBA League Pass

Will the Indiana Fever make the WNBA playoffs?

Yes. The Fever are locked in as the No. 6 seed in the 12-team league. Eight teams make the WNBA playoffs.

They will play the No. 3 seed in the first round, and their likely opponent is the Connecticut Sun, though the Las Vegas Aces remain as a possibility.

Caitlin Clark stats with the Indiana Fever

Averages through Sept. 15 (39 games): 19.5 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 34.1% 3-point shooting, 90% free throw shooting

Get Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever jerseys, gear

Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark jerseys, shirts, sweatshirts and hats from Fanatics can be found here.

Tickets to see Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

Tickets for Fever games are available here.

2024 Indiana Fever schedule

This is the Indiana Fever 2024 schedule, with TV info; all times are ET

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: WNBA Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark stats, score vs Washington Mystics