Caitlin Clark leaves with apparent injury, marring the mood after the Fever beat the Sun in Boston

BOSTON — Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark left Tuesday night's game in the final minute holding back tears after grabbing at her leg — an apparent injury that would be her third this season.

Clark walked back downcourt holding her right groin after assisting on the Fever's final basket of an 85-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,156 at the TD Garden in Boston. As teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console her, Clark walked to the basket stanchion and banged her head against it before heading to the bench. During the timeout, she covered her head with a towel and appeared to be holding back tears.

''No update. Just felt a little something in her groin,'' Fever coach Stephanie White said after the game. ''We'll get it evaluated and see what happens from there.''

Clark, who has already missed nine games this season for two separate left leg injuries, struggled with her shooting in the rare WNBA game at the home of the Celtics and Bruins, scoring 14 points while making 4 of 14 shots. She committed five turnovers and made her only 3-pointer in seven tries with just three minutes left, giving the Fever a nine-point lead that was their biggest of the game.

The second-year phenom was not available to reporters after the game. The Fever were scheduled to play the New York Liberty on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center — their second straight game in an NBA arena.

"Certainly we'll have another evaluation, probably a conversation, and we'll see where we are," White said. ''But this group has played without her. At least we've got experience in that.''

Clark's struggles didn't dampen the mood for the fans who filled the Garden to see New England's only WNBA team play in Boston for the second year in a row. Both have been sellouts — the biggest crowds to see a basketball game in the building's history.

And this year, it was the visiting Indiana Fever and their breakout star that most of them were there to see.

''It's a great opportunity for people in the city, or fans around the area, to come and support a team here,'' Clark said before the game. ''You don't take these opportunities for granted. It's always fun to go to a new arena in a new place and enjoy it.''

Fans wearing Clark's No. 22 crowded toward the court before the game trying to get her autograph, waving her jersey or homemade signs begging for a selfie. Among those in attendance were Celtics Jaylen Brown and Georges Niang, Bruins Jeremy Swayman and Mason Lohrei, Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.

Clark added seven assists and eight rebounds for the Fever, who pulled away in the fourth quarter. She committed one of her turnovers on the Fever's first possession and another when she stepped on the sideline at the end of the third quarter — guarded too closely to launch one of her logo 3-pointers.

Clark said before the game that she took time to appreciate the opportunity to play in a building where so much basketball lore had been written. The Iowa native said she grew up respecting the Celtics as an organization, even though she now counts herself an Indiana Pacers fan.

''The Celtics are one of the premier organizations of the NBA,'' she said. ''And having won a championship two years ago now, it's kind of cool to just be in this building and surround yourself with the greatness that has played in this arena.''

The Celtics won it all in 2024 shooting an NBA record number of 3-pointers — something Clark, whose long-distance shooting made her a breakout star for the Hawkeyes and in her first two years in the WNBA, could appreciate.

''I'm a Pacers fan. I just want to make that clear. But as I've been growing up, they've been a fun team to root for,'' she said. ''They're really fun to watch. They shoot a lot of 3s, which maybe people make an argument against. But for myself, I think that's fun. I enjoy that. I think it's a great style of basketball.''

Clark said she had never been to Boston and would have liked to take in a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, but baseball is off for the All-Star break.

''It seems like an amazing city,'' she said. ''I would love to come back here and explore a little bit more in the history of it and all the amazing things that you can do.''

That could be a while, because the city that is home to an unprecedented 18 NBA championships doesn't have a team in the WNBA; the Sun are the league's sole representative in New England, the birthplace of basketball.

Boston, a three-time Massachusetts Player of the Year while at Worcester Academy before winning an NCAA championship at South Carolina, said she believed her namesake town could support a WNBA team.

''When you look at the atmosphere for the Celtics, when you look at the atmosphere for the two TD Garden games that now we've had, it's been sold out. It's been energy,'' she said. ''They obviously have been great, and I think that's going to be the same all the time.''

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball