Interim Fever head coach Carlos Knox was embraced by his team after Indiana defeated the Sparks 101-96 Friday night at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The victory marked Knox’s first win as interim coach, in the same arena where he used to compete as an IUPUI player.
“I had a lot of family members here, I had a lot of people that respect me at a high level and respect my coaching ability, that support me, that support me and the city of Indianapolis,” Knox said. “It was one of those situations that was touching to everybody. So me personally, I was very emotional behind it because it felt so heartwarming. It’s felt so much like a great, beautiful situation.”
Knox replaced coach Marianne Stanley after the team announced her firing on Wednesday.
Carlos Knox gets the win in his first game as the interim head coach of the Fever. Love how happy the team was for Knox to get the W. pic.twitter.com/rvT8qRH216— Sean Hurd (@seanahurd) May 28, 2022
Carlos Knox gets the win in his first game as the interim head coach of the Fever. Love how happy the team was for Knox to get the W. pic.twitter.com/rvT8qRH216
Five fever players finished in the double figures Friday, led by Kelsey Mitchell, who notched 22 points behind 50 percent shooting, draining three of her six attempted three-pointers.
Danielle Robinson helped on both sides of the ball, logging ten points and 11 rebounds, while NaLyssa Smith and Victoria Vivians each recorded 17 points.
Indiana was able to pull out the win despite Nneka Ogwumike’s dominant performance, notching 30 points behind 66.7 percent shooting while pulling down ten boards.
The Fever improves to 3-7 on the season, while Los Angeles falls to a 3-6 record.