The Indiana Fever escaped Atlanta with a narrow 84-79 victory over the Dream despite a fourth-quarter collapse.

Indiana entered the fourth quarter with a 70-59 lead. They were commanding the Dream all game on both ends of the floor, but lineup changes and what fans believe was mismanaged playcalling caused the Dream to nearly overtake Indiana.

Atlanta outscored the Fever 20-14 in the fourth quarter and were seconds away from sending the game to overtime. They had multiple opportunities to tie the game with just under 30 seconds remaining, but Indiana kept their poise on the defensive end, and the Dream couldn’t find an open opportunity.

After a couple of shot attempts from Atlanta, Kelsey Mitchell was fouled on the other end, ending the game at the charity stripe.

Following the matchup, fans went in on Fever coach Christie Sides. They believe she should have drawn plays for Caitlin Clark to score or at least have the ability to be a playmaker off screens or sets.

Clark finished the game with 19 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds, shooting 42.9% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.

She attempted just shots in the fourth quarter, going 1-2 on jump shots.

“Please fire Christie Sides,” said one fan. “I feel like I’m watching a WNBA game. I don’t want to watch a WNBA game. I want to watch a Caitlin Clark-led Indiana Fever game.”

“If Christie Sides can’t say Clark get your shot,” said another fan. “Here let’s draw this up. No matter how good she is doing as HC for the Indiana Fever it’s hard to defend her. Tell her to force a shot even if you can’t draw a play up for her. Which is mind blowing!!”

“Every time the fever go up double digits late, Christie Sides decides to go away from what’s working and slow things down,” mentioned one fan. “It hasn’t worked once this year and they’re about to blow another one.”

“Christie sides really almost let her team get walked down in the 4th,” commented one fan.

“Christie Sides disasterclass,” mentioned another.

“Christie Sides strikes again,” commented one fan. “Terrible coaching decisions.”

“Christie Sides just isn’t the solution for the fever long term,” explained one fan. “The fever don’t look near as good when they bring the ball up court. Caitlin Clark immediately gives it up and doesn’t get it back. She keeps trying to force feed this at random points of the season.”

“y’all need to fire Christie Sides like now.” said another fan.

Sides has been with the Fever since 2023. This is her second season as the head coach in Indiana, and many fans believe it should be her last.

They think Sides is holding the Fever back when it comes to molding the lineup together and using players’ skill sets to the best of their ability, like Clark’s scoring or Lexie Hull’s defense.

Despite the backlash that Sides is facing, she has the Fever in a position to make the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The Fever currently stand as the No. 7 team in the WNBA standings, adding to their win column with a victory against Atlanta. They’re now 14-16 on the year.