WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Indiana Fever, playing backups most of the game, dropped their final game of the regular season, 92-91, to the Washington Mystics on Thursday night.

The game ultimately did not matter for the Fever, who finish the season at 20-20. They will be the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, taking on Connecticut. The Sun secured the No. 3 seed with a win over Chicago on Thursday night.

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Here are three observations:

Kelsey Mitchell sits after first-quarter scare

The outcome of the Fever-Washington game ultimately didn't matter for Indiana's seeding. The Fever were going to be locked into the No. 6 seed no matter what. So, Christie Sides said pregame the coaching staff was going to be cautious with starter minutes. And that came into play almost immediately.

Leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell fell under the basket midway through the first quarter after colliding with a Mystics player and was slow to get up. While she was able to get up and down the court, she was limping in her left leg. At one point, during an offensive possession, she tried to shake out her left leg.

She checked out at the next dead ball and went back to the locker room with athletic trainers. She quickly returned to the bench by the second quarter and was briefly wearing a knee brace on her left knee, but she did not wear it for long.

Mitchell sitting for the rest of the game seemed to be precautionary — she jumped up with the rest of the bench after big baskets, jogged out to meet her teammates at timeouts, and warmed up for the second half normally.

According to Scott Agness, player development coach Jhared Simpson told the broadcast, "Oh, she's fine. She's a warrior. She's on the bench."

The other four Fever starters played around 20 minutes each.

Defense lacking in middle quarters

Indiana's defense held Washington to four points for the first six minutes of the game on Thursday night. The next 14 minutes? The Mystics scored 48. Yes, this game doesn't matter for the Fever, and backups ended up playing most of the game. But that defensive effort, especially with Connecticut looming, is likely not what the coaching staff wanted heading into the playoffs.

Washington, a team that was fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot in this game, scored 30 points in the second quarter. Then, 30 more points in the third. The Mystics are the 9th-best scoring team in the league, averaging just 79 points per game. They eclipsed that before the third quarter ended.

To the Fever's credit, they cleaned up the defense in the fourth quarter, allowing seven points through the first five minutes. At the same time, the Indiana backups surged back from a 15-point deficit to get within one point with one minute left.

Sides has been emphasizing defense the entire season after Indiana finished the 2023 season second-to-last in defensive rating. From a statistical perspective, Indiana has not necessarily improved — the Fever are still 11th in the league this season with a 106.3 defensive rating.

But with an improved offense, the Fever have been making the defensive liabilities work. They went from 13-27 in 2023 to a 20-20 playoff team with similar defensive efforts year-over-year.

Grace Berger, Victaria Saxton see significant minutes

In the interest of resting her core players, Christie Sides emptied her bench early Thursday night.

Kristy Wallace, who has played sparingly since leaving the starting lineup at the end of June, got into the game in the second quarter and played over half the game. She went 6-of-8 for 17 points in her extended time on the court, and contributed some clutch defensive plays.

Grace Berger, a 2023 All-Rookie selection, has barely played this season, but she got into the game in the third quarter and played the entire fourth. She finished with two points, one assist and two rebounds and was a +15.

Victaria Saxton also has played in just eight games this season, all of them in garbage time. She entered the game at the 5-minute mark of the fourth quarter on Thursday, sinking a layup and a 3-pointer in quick succession.

How many points did Caitlin Clark score?

The surefire Rookie of the Year finished the regular season with 8 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. She was subbed out midway through the third quarter and didn't return.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark lose regular-season finale to Mystics