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Aliyah Boston exits Fever's win with right thumb injury – ESPN – ESPN
Aaliyah Boston leaves the game in the third quarter after injuring her thumb. (0:23)
Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, the No. 1 overall pick in April’s WNBA draft, exited Sunday’s game in the third quarter with a right thumb injury prior to her team picking up a 83-80 win over the Atlanta Dream.
“I haven’t talked to Todd [Champlin], our trainer, yet. I’m waiting to see,” Fever coach Christie Sides said of Boston’s status moving forward. “I know it’s a thumb injury, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Boston, an All-Star Game starter and frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, is averaging 14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 30.8 minutes while leading the league in field goal percentage (58.9%).
She left the game Sunday after recording 9 points and 9 rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Fever, who led by as many as 16, stumbled after Boston departed for the locker room, allowing Atlanta to retake the lead. With Boston back on the bench to support her teammates, Indiana stormed back in the final three minutes to come away with the win, thanks in large part to Kristy Wallace‘s trio of 3s in the final 70 seconds. The Australian guard ultimately finished with a career-high 20 points.
“They punched us in the mouth really aggressively, and I think it showed how resilient we are as a team,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said about overcoming a poor third quarter in which Indiana was outscored 21-7.
The Fever improved to 11-24 and staved off elimination from playoff contention. Their three-game win streak is their best since July 2021.
The Fever’s chances of making the postseason remain incredibly slim — less than 0.1%, according to ESPN Analytics — but they can still secure the most wins for the franchise since 2016 if they win three of their final five regular-season games.
“I think we all know where the standings are. I mean, we’re living today,” Sides said. “We’ve got to win come Friday for us to keep moving forward … Keep fighting, keep doing the little things, keep growing as a team. I keep saying that, we’ve only been together four and a half months. You see the difference in this team. You see the trust that they’re having in each other. That takes time and so that’s just where we are. We’re going to keep doing more of the same.”
