Five WNBA Games Tonight as the Season Resumes: Clark and the Fever on ESPN

Five games out of the All-Star break: Caitlin Clark and the East-leading Fever on ESPN in Seattle, Napheesa Collier's Target Center debut for the league-best Lynx, and the defending-champion Aces back home looking for a defensive reset.

The WNBA picks back up tonight after six days off, the second half opening with a five-game slate that runs from a 7:30 p.m. ET matinee in Washington to a 10 p.m. ET doubleheader out West. Only one game is on national television, and it is the one with the biggest name and the softest opponent: Indiana at Seattle on ESPN. The freshest storyline of the night, though, is in Minneapolis, where the best team in the league finally gets to show off its returning star at home.

Indiana Fever (17-10) at Seattle Storm (6-23): Clark and the East leaders on ESPN, going for four straight

Tipoff 9:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM PT at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. National TV: ESPN, also streaming on ESPN Unlimited / the ESPN App, plus fubo, Sling, YouTube TV and DirecTV. The Fever's local feed (MeTV Indianapolis / Fever Direct) also carries it.

This is the only game tonight most of the country can find without a subscription, and Indiana is the team worth watching. The Fever sit alone in first in the East, a half-game up on the idle Dream, and ride a three-game win streak into the break that they ended with a 123-88 demolition of Connecticut. The draw is obvious: Clark, who went for 17 in Saturday's All-Star Game, and the league's highest-scoring offense. The intrigue is the matchup. These teams played 11 days ago in Indianapolis and the league-worst Storm nearly stole it, 110-107, before Clark dropped a career-high 45 for the first 40-point, 10-assist game in WNBA history. Seattle is 6-23, 1-14 against the West, and has lost six straight, but it pushed Indiana to the wire once already.

Clark is probable with the back issue that has limited her minutes all first half (she is expected to play), and Bree Hall is probable with an ankle. Damiris Dantas is out (knee). Seattle is without Ezi Magbegor (facial fracture). Kelsey Mitchell leads the Fever at 23.3 points a game, Clark adds 21.0 and 7.8 assists, and Aliyah Boston 17.3 and 8.5 rebounds. Natasha Hiedeman (15.6) paces the Storm. The line is Indiana -8.5, but the last meeting was a one-possession game.

Toronto Tempo (10-16) at Minnesota Lynx (22-6): Collier's Target Center debut for the league's best team

Tipoff 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT at Target Center in Minneapolis. No national TV. Local/regional: Victory+ (Minnesota) and TSN/TSN+ (Canada), plus WNBA League Pass everywhere else.

The storyline that makes this worth finding on League Pass is Collier. She missed the first 27 games after offseason surgery on both ankles, then returned last Wednesday in Seattle and dropped 24 points and 10 rebounds in an 86-76 win. Tonight is her first home game at Target Center, and she walks into a team that went 21-6 without her and now sits at 22-6 with the best record in the league and a comfortable cushion atop the West. Coach Cheryl Reeve's line after the debut, that "it's kind of fitting that No. 24 scored 24 points," hints at the ceiling here: a two-time MVP runner-up and the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year slotting onto a squad already second in the league in scoring (91.5 PPG) and second in points allowed (82.8 a game).

Toronto is the soft landing. The expansion Tempo have lost seven of eight, giving up 94.9 points over that stretch and three 100-point nights, and they were blown out 109-83 in their last outing. Sandy Brondello is back on the bench after serving her one-game suspension, and Marina Mabrey (21.0 PPG, fourth in the league) is the one player who can keep it close. The Tempo are hurting: Brittney Sykes is out (foot), with Kiki Rice (ankle), Nyara Sabally (ribs) and Isabelle Harrison (knee) all questionable. Minnesota is only without Emma Cechova (knee, done for the season). Olivia Miles (19.3 PPG, 5.9 assists), the All-Star rookie in the MVP conversation, and Kayla McBride (18.1) join Collier. The spread is Minnesota -14.5.

Portland Fire (11-16) at Las Vegas Aces (18-8): the defending champs, at home, chasing a defensive reset

Tipoff 10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. No national TV. Local/regional: Fox 12 Plus / Rose City Sports Net (Portland) and KMCC The Spot Vegas 34 (Las Vegas), plus WNBA League Pass.

Las Vegas came out of the break the wrong way, having dropped two of three and blown a nine-point lead in the final four minutes to lose 100-99 at Washington in its last game. A'ja Wilson scored 38 in that loss and is averaging 26.1, but coach Becky Hammon was blunt afterward: "Until we start playing defense, we're not a serious team." The Aces are 0-3 when they give up 100, and they sit roughly three games behind the Lynx, so every night is a keep-pace game now. The good news is the opponent. Portland is 11-16, has lost two straight, allows 90.6 a game (13th in the league) and gave up 101 in back-to-back games before the break. Las Vegas won both meetings this season, both in Portland, behind 32 from Wilson each time; this is the first one on the Strip.

Wilson is available (not on the injury report), but the Aces are without Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (concussion protocol), Kierstan Bell (leg) and Janiah Barker (leg, out for the season). Portland is missing Sarah Ashlee Barker and Sania Feagin (both knee, out for the season). Carla Leite (15.3 PPG, 6.0 assists) leads the Fire. The line is Las Vegas -11.5.

New York Liberty (15-12) at Los Angeles Sparks (10-16): Jonquel Jones, fresh off All-Star MVP, visits a desperate Sparks team

Tipoff 10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. No national TV. Local/regional: WWOR-TV (New York), Spectrum Sports Net (Los Angeles) and Liberty Live, plus WNBA League Pass.

The Liberty carry the best story of the weekend into this one. Jonquel Jones was named All-Star Game MVP on Saturday after 22 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists for Team Spoon, making her the first player ever to win league MVP, Finals MVP, Commissioner's Cup MVP and All-Star MVP. She dedicated it to her late aunt. New York is 15-12, third in the East and a tidy 9-3 within the conference, with Breanna Stewart scoring 21.1 a game and Jones adding 14.8 and 9.2 boards. Los Angeles, meanwhile, is on its longest skid of the season, five straight, and is 3-11 without Kelsey Plum. Plum will miss her 11th consecutive game with a lower-leg injury, though she has resumed on-court work and coach Lynne Roberts says she is "getting close," with a possible return as soon as Sunday. The Sparks are four games out of the eighth seed and running out of runway.

New York is still without Satou Sabally (concussion) and Leonie Fiebich (foot), and Marine Johannes is questionable with an ankle. Nneka Ogwumike (17.1 PPG, 9.1 rebounds), the Sparks' all-time leading scorer, is available. The line is New York -4.5.

Connecticut Sun (7-20) at Washington Mystics (14-12): the 8th-seed Mystics, on NBA TV, get the league-worst Sun without Griner

Tipoff 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. National TV: NBA TV, with NBC Sports Boston (Connecticut) and Monumental Sports Network (Washington) locally, plus WNBA League Pass.

The earliest game is also the longest shot on the board, but it matters for the playoff picture. Washington holds the eighth and final spot at 14-12 and went into the break hot, pulling off two upsets: a 100-99 win over Las Vegas behind 25 from Shakira Austin, and the win that ended the Valkyries' nine-game streak. The young trio of Austin (15.0 PPG, 9.5 rebounds), Sonia Citron (17.2 PPG, 3.7 assists) and Kiki Iriafen (14.8 PPG, 9.2 rebounds) is becoming something, and Austin just won the inaugural Shooting Stars event at All-Star weekend. Connecticut is the league-worst 7-20 in its farewell season before the move to Houston, has no All-Stars, and now will be without Brittney Griner, who is out with a knee injury. Griner was the Sun's leading scorer at 14.1; Aneesah Morrow (10.5 points, 9.3 rebounds) is the one left to carry the frontcourt. Aaliyah Edwards and Saniya Rivers are game-time decisions for the Sun, while Washington has a clean injury report. The line is Washington -6.5.

Off the break

The league has not played since last Wednesday's six-game pre-break slate. The All-Star Game followed on Saturday, with Team Spoon taking the 30th-anniversary edition 129-122 behind Jonquel Jones's MVP performance (22 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists). Clark added 17 for the winners, and Dallas rookie Azzi Fudd won Friday's 3-point contest as the first rookie and first UConn alum to do so. No games were scheduled Sunday or Monday. The regular season resumes tonight.

Looking ahead

Wednesday brings the Atlanta Dream out of the break: Angel Reese, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard all come off the weekend healthy, with Reese's knee (she left the July 19 game and then played the All-Star Game without a setback) the one to watch. The Dream open at Dallas at 8:00 p.m. ET on USA Network, and Golden State visits Phoenix at 10:00 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC.