With 8.8 seconds left in the third quarter of the Indiana Fever’s game against the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse last Tuesday, the Fever were on the hunt for one more big play to drive home the dagger.

It was game two in a best-of-three series in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, and the injury-riddled Fever needed to win to keep their postseason hopes alive. They led 56-44 and had been sitting with a comfortable lead for much of the game, but they weren’t satisfied yet.

After forcing the Dream to turn the ball over under the Fever’s basket on an inbounds play, the Fever slung the basketball around the perimeter, trying to find an open pair of hands. Lexie Hull, standing just outside the three-point line, raised her arms – there were no defenders even close to her – and Aliyah Boston quickly passed her the ball.

As soon as the basketball left her hands, Boston lifted her right arm in the air with the classic three-pointer sign. She knew what Hull was about to do – and she was right.

Hull let it fly, sinking a nothing-but-net three-pointer that created nothing short of an explosion. Caitlin Clark and the rest of the Fever bench erupted, leaping to their feet and jumping up and down along the baseline in celebration.

Just a few feet away, Kenny Moore II and Zaire Franklin were doing the same exact thing.

The two Colts stars had been animated and vocal throughout the game, clapping and cheering for their fellow athletes. Earlier in the game they were shown on the jumbotron to thunderous applause, but they weren’t there to further their own agendas or get attention – they simply just wanted to go support the Fever, as they’d done many times before.

“Me being from Philly, I grew up with the sports teams feeding off each other,” Franklin said. “That type of energy is contagious. So obviously the Pacers popped it off going to the finals, the Fever doing they thing in the playoffs and obviously we were able to get off to a hot start. So I’m definitely supporting them…definitely looking forward to see them try to get the win against the Aces.”

The Fever play the Las Vegas Aces on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Game 3 of a best-of-five semifinal series; it’s currently tied 1-1. Franklin will be there, and you can bet Pacers players will be too.

Head coach Shane Steichen also wore a Fever shirt last Friday before their third game against the Dream (in which they stormed back late to win and advance to play the Aces in the semifinals) and wished the team luck in his press conference. It’s not the first time Steichen has done something like that; he’s been vocal in his support for both the Pacers and the Fever, especially in the last year as both basketball teams have been among the top teams in the country. And both basketball teams have supported the Colts over the years as well, on social media and in person.

“It shows just the grittiness, the toughness, the resilience that they’re playing with right now,” Steichen said after the Fever’s comeback win over the Dream. “You can see they’re all playing together. So, it’s exciting for them. It’s exciting for the city.”