Kelsey Mitchell gets Fever playoff update after injury scare

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides confirmed that Kelsey Mitchell is doing fine after a minor injury scare during Thursday night's regular-season finale against the Washington Mystics. Mitchell, who averages 19.6 points per game, briefly left the game in the first quarter after tangling with a defender and appearing to injure her left leg. However, according to Sides, the decision to sit her out for the remainder of the game was purely precautionary ahead of the Fever's playoff run .

"Kelsey's good," Sides said after the game , as tweeted Matthew Byrne of ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.

The Fever open their first-round playoff series against the Connecticut Sun this Sunday and Sides did not want to take any chances with her star guard's health.

Mitchell initially attempted to continue playing after the incident, limping slightly before being subbed out halfway through the first quarter. She left for the locker room but returned to the bench early in the second quarter, sporting a knee brace at first, which she later removed. Although Mitchell did not re-enter the game, she was active on the sidelines , celebrating with her teammates and jogging to meet them during timeouts.

"Once she went down ... I just made the decision right then she was just going to get ready for Sunday," Sides said, per Chloe Peterson of the Indianapolis Star.

Kelsey Mitchell says injury scare is 'nothing major'

Mitchell assured that the injury wasn't serious and that her exit from the game was more precautionary, adding that it was related to some tightness on her left side.

"I think it was just more like throughout the course of my left side," Mitchell said. "But I don't think anything major. I just think we have to be precautionary. Nothing major."

The Fever, having already secured the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, had no significant implications riding on the outcome of the game against the Mystics. Sides opted to rest several of her key players, with Lexie Hull being the longest-tenured starter on the floor at just over 21 minutes of playing time. Even before Mitchell's minor scare, Sides had planned to limit her starters' minutes in preparation for the postseason.

Mitchell played a total of four minutes in the 92-91 loss, scoring four points on two made baskets.