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Tuesday night’s game against the Indiana Fever at Scotiabank Arena was about as big-time as it gets. Fans lined up in droves outside the arena in Caitlin Clark jerseys hours before tip-off. Brittney “Slim” Sykes made her long-awaited return from injury after a two-month, 18-game absence. The Goliath Fever stood between the Tempo and the end of their WNBA-worst 10-game losing streak. The stage was set. “Even at our hotel last night there was a few people that came up to us and were like ‘We love the Tempo and we’re so excited for the game tomorrow,'” Clark said before the game. “They also maybe said they would be rooting for us this game.” Those fans went home happy, as Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and the formidable Fever picked apart the plucky Tempo, shooting over the top of the defence and slicing through it to eke out a 101-95 win. The Tempo have gained a reputation for “ethically tanking.” It would be impossible to accuse them of losing intentionally after watching how they fight tooth and nail for every possession down the stretch of each loss, frequently making near comebacks. This loss to Fever was one of the best examples. Every quarter, the Fever extended their lead to double digits, but the Tempo never stopped fighting. Mabrey splashed two of her five 3s in the final minutes to bring the game within two possessions — she finished with a team-high 22 points, albeit on 21 shots. “I believe they’re on a 10-game losing streak, but if you look at all those games, there was moments that they were in every single one of those,” Clark said. “Like they’re fighting, they’re competing, and obviously, getting some key players back will certainly help them down the stretch as well. “But you know, that’s kind of what you expect from an expansion team — a team that’s just really gritty. Like they’re never going to give up, they’re never going to hang their head, and that’s certainly how they play.” Maybe all the uproar caused some nerves because the game started slowly. Rookie Kiki Rice, who held Paige Bueckers scoreless through the first half in the Tempo’s last game, got the Clark assignment to start. She committed a foul immediately. Then Clark rimmed out a good look. It took the Tempo over two minutes to score, and there were multiple stoppages. Clark later came off a Zoom action, boogied on Rice with an in-and-out dribble, and penetrated into the paint for a smooth turnaround fade. No more nerves. Kelsey Mitchell certainly didn’t feel any as she came off a screen and banged a pull-up 3, extending the Fever’s lead to 16-4. Marina Mabrey swiftly traded her a pull-up triple right back, but Mitchell was on a different level. She went back the other way and nashed for a reverse layup, snaked the pick n’ roll and split the Tempo’s hedging defence to drop in a finesse scoop shot, and drained another triple. Mitchell led with 16 points after the first quarter, and the Fever were up 33-23. She finished with a game-high 29 points. “I’ve played with a good amount of really good backcourt players, but obviously she’s the best,” Clark said of Mitchell pregame. “Just her speed, her ability to score at will whenever she wants, and I think probably the most underrated part of her game, certainly this year, has been the way she’s been able to guard and take every matchup that we’ve asked her to take. “And then also like her cutting. People don’t understand how good her off-ball cutting is. It leads to a lot of really easy baskets for us. Puts the defence in rotation, so you know it’s really fun to get to share the backcourt with her.” Right as the game started to look out of reach with Aliyah Boston popping a mid-range jumper and Mitchell picking Sykes for an easy runout, extending the Fever lead to 14, Slim pulled the Tempo back. First, it was a hard cross and line drive to the hoop for a clean layup. Then she got her mid-range game going with a trio of 20-footers. Temi Fagbenle also stepped up, finishing a baseline reverse and canning a pair of triples — something she’s been seen working on throughout the season. The Tempo want their frontcourt players to space and shoot, and they did just that as Aneesah Morrow added another deep ball, cutting the Fever lead to single digits at half. It was Morrow’s first home game in Toronto, and she grabbed 16 boards, her most since joining the team. Then the Tempo revealed their mascots, Dot the arctic hare and Dez, the snapping turtle. Cool. OK, back to basketball. Coming out of halftime, the stars put on a show. Toronto ran the first action for Mabrey, and she drained a triple, flaring to the wing. Then she dropped another deep one on the next possession, pulling the Tempo within four. Clarke said, “Hold my beer,” and answered with a couple of triples of her own, including a spectacular step-back. Meanwhile, the Tempo’s ability to keep the game at arm’s reach was underpinned by Sykes and Rice’s steady driving. In her first game back from a foot injury, Slim had no hesitation taking defenders off the dribble. The Tempo’s free-throw rate dropped from fourth in the W to 12th in Sykes’ absence, and their offence could certainly use more reliable driving into the paint to create advantages. Toronto’s last-ranked defence needs Slim back, too, as it ballooned by nine points allowed per 100 possessions without her. “She’s been a huge loss for us at both ends of the floor, but especially defensively when we’ve been struggling,” Sandy Brondello said pregame. “She’s someone that can obviously rise to the occasion and stop anyone on any given night.” Sykes added: “I haggled for some more minutes … I was just really grateful, just to be back out there with my team, sharing the ball with them, watching them work.” Slim fed Fagbenle for yet another 3 as the sub-20 percent career shooter continued to show off her newfound skill. But Mitchell was relentless, cashing back-to-back tough 3s, extending the Fever lead back to double digits to end the third. The Tempo had moments in the fourth, namely Rice giving the work to Sophie Cunningham — who was mostly booed by the crowd upon entering the game — before splashing a mid-range pull-up. Next Rice chucked a big skip pass to the far corner where another frontcourt player, Ornella Bankole, hit a 3. But while the Tempo fought admirably again, they just smoked too many layups and missed too many shots to overcome the Fever’s onslaught of skill. The losing streak is now 11, but they’ll get another shot to end it tomorrow in Washington against the Mystics. “That’s where it starts, isn’t it? You know, we face a lot of adversity. Our injuries, people in and out. I mean, it’s been crazy what we’ve had to go through,” Brondello said postgame. “But the players still come to work every day, and try to get better, try to execute the scout and be resilient.”