INDIANA -- Shot after shot clanked off the rim Sunday afternoon as the Indiana Fever had one of their worst performances of the year in their 93-77 loss to the Washington Mystics.
The Fever's 77 points were their third-fewest scored all season and the fewest since July 15. It was also the first game this year in which Indiana never held a lead.
The loss dropped the Fever (27-15) a game behind the Atlanta Dream for the No. 4 seed and 1½ back of the Las Vegas Aces (28-13) for the No. 3 seed.
"Sometimes, that's just how the game of basketball goes," Fever guard Caitlin Clark said. "It feels like we just couldn't throw it in the water. But at the same time, that might happen in the playoffs. So, figure it out. Find a way to win.
"I'm not sure we'll ever shoot it poorly the rest of the year like that. ... We've had the best offense in the league all year. It just didn't feel like us."
The Fever wrap up the season with two games against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (32-10) -- one home and one away. The Dream finish the season with a pair of road games against the New York Liberty (26-16), who are also battling for a higher seed.
Indiana could drop to the No. 8 seed if it loses both games to the Lynx and the Liberty, Mystics (26-16) and Dallas Wings (26-16) win out. Washington and Dallas do not face a playoff-bound team in the final two games.
The Lynx will clinch the No. 1 seed with one more win as they hold the tiebreaker over the Golden State Valkyries (31-11). If Minnesota defeats Indiana on Tuesday, the Lynx could play it safe and rest some key players in the season finale.
"Every one of these games that we're playing right now are like playoff games," Fever coach Stephanie White said. "We've got to understand collectively that everything has to take it up a notch. Intensity level. Preparation. Knowing personnel on our scouting report.
"At this time of the year, it's not meant to be pretty basketball. It's meant to be gritty basketball, and I think we have to be open to understanding that that's the case. We got knocked in the mouth."
Sunday's loss ended the Fever's three-game winning streak. Indiana, which is the highest-scoring team in the league, also saw its run of four consecutive games scoring over 100 points end.
The Mystics, who have the second-best scoring defense in the league, feature athletic, defensive-minded players throughout the roster. Washington has the best record in the league (14-4) since July 20 and is one of three teams to defeat every other playoff team this season. The Lynx and Aces are the other two.
Washington was led by Most Improved Player candidate Shakira Austin (20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists), who had her first career game of at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kiki Iriafen recorded her eighth straight double-double (21 points, 14 rebounds), extending her franchise record. Sonia Citron finished with 16 points and nine assists as Washington shot 56.9% from the field and was 9-for-18 from behind the arc.
The Mystics are the No. 7 seed, but could move up with games against the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky remaining.
Clark led the Fever with 25 points and five assists. It was her fourth straight game with 25-plus points, the longest streak of her career. Kelsey Mitchell added 22 points to extend her WNBA record to 26 consecutive games with 20-plus points.
"You would love to say, hopefully, this is just a fluke, and you throw it away," Clark said, "but at the same time, you've got to be able to learn from it. You've got to be able to assess it and figure out what went wrong. It just felt really flat. I felt like we looked tired. We looked like we just didn't have our spunk."
