INDIANAPOLIS — As the clock ticked down during the Indiana Fever’s tug-of-war against the Atlanta Dream Sunday afternoon, the 17,274 fans in the sellout crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse were chanting, “Dee-fense! Dee-fense!” in exhortation.

It was a heck of an idea and one the Fever had not so warmly embraced as coach Christie Sides had hoped during the earlier segments of the WNBA game. During this fourth-quarter rally from 16 points down, however, the notion took hold and the Fever captured an adventurous, 104-100 victory.

“I loved it,” Sides said of the fan participation. “Maybe we can get them to do that to start the game.”

It was really a whatever-it-takes fourth period, but one highlighted by center Aliyah Boston, who four times in the closing minutes gave Indiana a tie or a two-point lead. It was her finest game of the 19-17 season, with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.

“I think we’re very capable of beating every single team,” said Boston, the 2023 rookie-of-the-year out of South Carolina.

The Fever have four regular-season games left, two versus the tough Las Vegas Aces with A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, Wednesday and Friday, and three at home, before the playoffs. The squad is 8-2 since the Olympic break.

The triumph was a good one for the Fever to notch because a 99-88 loss to the Minnesota Lynx came in the previous game, last Friday night.

This time the Fever won without being brilliant throughout. At halftime the turnovers were 13-1, with Indiana on the bad side of the equation, yet trailing just 48-44. They adjusted well, finishing with 17 as Atlanta made its own miscues, ending with eight.

“It was impressive we were still in the game at halftime,” said guard Caitlin Clark, who contributed 26 points and 12 assists, aiding and abetting Boston, along with guard Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 21. “I was proud of us. We chipped away. We were resilient.”

Resilience has become an often-used word describing the Fever and its knack for pulling out wins late on the clock, a habit which is bad for blood pressures, but satisfying for the won-loss record.

“AB was incredible,” Clark said of Boston. “It was not our prettiest, but we got it done.”

The atmosphere had the practice feel of a playoff game and Sides said probably every game the Fever play between now and the actual playoffs, beginning in late September, probably will.

“It starts on the defensive end,” Sides said. “I can’t say that enough.”

Prior to the game, Sides said the Fever can’t count on winning games when more than 90 points are surrendered. This time, in survival mode, the team managed to gain a W in the W even with allowing 100 points.

Not a trend to adopt, however.

“You don’t usually get a win like this when you make this many turnovers,” Sides said.

Sometimes teams win games they should lose and it doesn’t matter how it happens, but counts just the same.