Fever clinch WNBA playoff spot for third consecutive season with Fire losing to Tempo

With the Portland Fire's 82-79 loss to the Toronto Tempo on Friday, the Indiana Fever became the fourth team to clinch a berth in the WNBA playoffs.

Playing in Vancouver as part of their "Cross-Canada" series, the Tempo went on a 10-4 run to take a 69-59 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Fire countered with a 17-6 surge to go ahead 76-75 on an Emily Engstler 3-pointer with 3:28 remaining in regulation.

Baskets by Isabelle Harrison and Kiki Rice put the Tempo back ahead to stay in the final minute. Harrison finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Toronto, who broke a 12-game losing streak.

INDIANA IS PLAYOFF BOUND 👏 The Fever are heading to the WNBA playoffs for the third straight season 🏀 pic.twitter.com/dkzLvv6KJM

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 22, 2026

The Fever join the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries and defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces in assuring spots for the postseason. They lost an opportunity to directly clinch a playoff bid with a 91-85 defeat versus the Dallas Wings on Thursday.

Indiana has made the playoffs for the third consecutive season, coinciding with Caitlin Clark joining the team as the WNBA Draft's No. 1 overall pick in 2024 , after a seven-year absence from the postseason.

Last season, the Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Aces in a five-game semifinal series .

Logjam in WNBA playoff standings

At 24-13 going into Saturday's matchup with the New York Liberty (22-15), the Fever currently hold the No. 4 seed in the WNBA standings , a half-game ahead of the Dream. Following their 124-88 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday, the Dream (23-13) play the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday.

Indiana could finish as high as third in the standings, currently only a half-game behind the Aces (25-13) for third place. Second place could also be within reach if the Valkyries (25-11) fall hard in their final eight games. Yet the Fever could also finish as low as eighth for the league's final playoff spot amid a race in which six teams are separated by 3.5 games.

The Washington Mystics missed a chance to move up in the standings by losing 94-84 to the Lynx . Olivia Miles returned from an ankle injury suffered in Wednesday's win over Golden State to score 24 points with 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

Combined with a Mystics win, the Chicago Sky would have been eliminated with a loss on Friday. But the Sky defeated the Valkyries 73-70 to keep their outside playoff chances alive. Natasha Cloud scored 17 points with 7 rebounds, while Kamila Cardoso added 14 points with 10 boards.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →