INDIANAPOLIS — Fever coach Christie Sides could tell Thursday night was going to be special for Aliyah Boston.

Boston has struggled with confidence, Sides said. The reigning Rookie of the Year and WNBA All-Star has had a tough start to the season, with her averages of 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds not matching her production from 2023.

So, on Monday night, Sides kept Boston in the game in the midst of a blowout loss to Connecticut in an effort to up her confidence, despite benching the other four starters. Boston finished the game with a double-double, leading the Fever in all three major categories with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

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“I left her in because I needed her to get confidence, because that's what she was missing," Sides said. "She's so hard on herself. And she did that.”

But Sides knew Boston had more in her. And she unleashed it in Thursday's 91-84 win over the Atlanta Dream.

“She was undeniable,” Sides said postgame. “I watched her warm up … her warm up was different. She was more physical. I couldn't be more proud of her. I thought she played extremely well, really physical, didn't back down and finished great, great shots.”

On Thursday, Boston was the catalyst that allowed the Fever to hold on to a hard-fought victory. She scored the first basket of the night, using her size and new muscle to fight through two defenders for a turnaround shot.

Boston said she put on a lot of muscle in the offseason in order to compete with WNBA veteran centers like Tina Charles, a 14-year WNBA veteran who stands at 6-4. When the two competed in the preseason, Boston wasn’t as dominant as she wanted to be.

That flipped in their first regular-season meeting; Boston matched her previous season-high of 17 points just in the first half, while holding Charles to two points.

“This game, my mindset coming in was just to dominate,” Boston said. “I feel like when I played against her in the preseason, it was kind of a hard game for me, just understanding like Tina Charles, she's just a great post player… just super physical. So I was just saying that this has to be the game that I try to dominate the post, and it started off really great for me. I just had that mindset of like, 'Just keep it going.'”

She had a quiet third quarter, going those 10 minutes of game time without scoring a basket. But the Fever needed her most in the fourth, and that’s when the 2023 No. 1 pick put her team on her back.

Indiana had a 15-point lead at halftime and looked to be coasting to an easy victory over the Dream. Then, Atlanta outscored Indiana by four points in the third and started the fourth on a 9-0 run. Suddenly, that lead was down to two. Then, a tie. Then, the Fever were trailing for the first time since the first quarter.

Boston saved the day. She gave Indiana its first field goal of the fourth quarter at the 4:47 mark. She added another. Then a third. And a fourth.

Boston scored eight straight points for the Fever, single-handedly going shot-for-shot against the Dream and keeping Indiana (4-10) in the hunt. Kelsey Mitchell broke Boston’s scoring streak with two free throws and a jump shot, and Boston gave Indiana a crucial cushion with her final basket of the game to put the Fever up five points with 30 seconds left.

Mitchell sealed the game with free throws. Mitchell (eight points) and Boston (10) were the only two Fever players to score in the fourth quarter.

Boston finished with a double-double, matching her career-high of 27 points and coming one-off her rebounding career high with 13. Five of those rebounds came on the offensive glass, contributing to the Fever’s 11 second-chance points.

Most of all, this game helped Boston get her confidence back. Sides knew Boston was due for a game like this. Boston knew it, too.

“I think I've just been needing one like this,” Boston said. “Where I just feel like I'm dominant, and I'm getting to my spots. I'm really glad to have my teammates out there that trusted me getting the ball and just making the shot.”

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Aliyah Boston got her confidence back, dominated vs Dream