INDIANAPOLIS — There was a little more at stake Thursday as the Indiana Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream 83-71 in the teams’ first Commissioner’s Cup game of the season. The Fever won last season’s Commissioner’s Cup — an annual in-season tournament — and took home the $500,000 prize. Several Indiana players said it was important to begin their title defense against the Dream, with Sophie Cunningham noting that the $30,000 each player won in 2025 was less than that after taxes, but more importantly, they wanted to rebound from an abysmal road loss against the Portland Fire last week.The Fever held a team meeting on Monday to address their issues and air grievances, and they responded with a statement win over the hot Dream. Indiana used a balanced offensive approach and stifling defense to bounce back and improve to 5-4. Atlanta fell to 6-3.Clark throws up and then goes offFever star Caitlin Clark looked particularly fatigued during certain stretches. She threw up at halftime, the Prime Video broadcast reported, which team sources confirmed to The Athletic. But in the third quarter, it was hard to tell that Clark may have been feeling less than 100 percent. She drilled a step-back 3-pointer over Dream defender Allisha Gray to help the Fever retake the lead at 44-43, and she briefly posed for the home fans before running back on defense.A few plays later, Clark dished a pinpoint pass to Kelsey Mitchell for a layup that pushed Indiana’s lead to six points and forced the Dream to call a timeout. As fired-up Clark went back to her bench, she and coach Stephanie White, who went viral for their verbal spat in the Fever’s loss at Portland last week, bear-hugged each other as they smiled from ear to ear. Clark totaled 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 31 minutes.