Fire explode offensively in runaway defeat of Fever

Megan Gustafson scored a season-high 22 points in her first start of the year, Emily Engstler and Carla Leite had double-doubles, and the host Portland Fire had a season-high in points in a runaway 100-84 defeat of the Indiana Fever on Saturday.

Leite had 18 points and a career-high 12 assists, Engstler had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Bridget Carleton had 14 points for the expansion Fire, who have won four of five.

Gustafson was 8-for-8 from the field with one 3-pointer and was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Fever leading scorer Caitlin Clark was held to a season-low six points on 1-of-7 shooting and had six assists while playing only 22 minutes because of foul trouble.

It was her second straight game with a season low after scoring 16 points on 3-of-12 shooting in a 90-88 loss to Golden State on Thursday. Clark picked up her fifth foul in the final minute of the third quarter as the Fire built a 25-point lead and played sparingly in the fourth.

Aliyah Boston had 18 points and seven rebounds and Kelsey Mitchell added 17 points and four assists for the Fever (4-4), who have lost two in a row following a three-game winning streak.

The Fever's previous three losses were by a combined seven points.

The Fire (6-4) are tied for the best start for an expansion team in league history with the Detroit Shock, who went 6-4 to open the 1998 season. The Toronto Tempo can match that 10-game start if they beat the New York Liberty next Wednesday.

Sarah Ashley Barker had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Fire, who shot 51.4% from the field and limited the Fever to 41.4%.

Portland avenged a 90-73 loss at Indiana on May 20, a game Clark missed because of a back injury.

Portland, which committed a season-high 28 turnovers in an 86-66 loss to Atlanta on Friday had 12 against the Fever. Indiana had 18.

The Fire took control early, using a 19-2 run to take a 21-10 lead with 2:48 remaining in the first quarter. Gustafson had back-to-back three-point plays and Carleton made a 3-pointer and a layup in that spurt.

Nyadiew Puoch's layup stretched the Fire's lead to 41-20 with 6:13 left in the first half. Kelsey Mitchell made two free throws to close the deficit to 44-30 with 3:19 left.

Portland led a 50-37 at halftime and the Fever couldn't cut the deficit to less than 13 in the second half.

--Field Level Media