Chicago Sky scouting report

Indiana Fever (19-11) at Chicago Sky (14-16)

When: 5 p.m.

Where: Allstate Arena

TV: Comcast CN100

Last time: On Friday, the Fever lost to the host Connecticut Sun 83-55; on Tuesday, the Sky lost to the host New York Liberty 71-61.

Skinny: It’s Fan Appreciation Day on the final regular-season home game. Whether or not fans will be treated to any home playoff games has yet to be determined, although the odds are getting smaller by the day. With four games left, the Sky is 2½ games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta has three games remaining, including a home game against the Tulsa Shock, the worst team in the WNBA. The Dream closes against playoff-bound Indiana and Connecticut, the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Sky, which is 10-6 at home including wins over five of the top seven teams in the WNBA, finishes with three straight road games: at Minnesota, Los Angeles and Seattle. The Sky fumbled away a golden opportunity in a loss to the Liberty on Tuesday despite being up 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Liberty clinched a playoff berth. Sky center Sylvia Fowles led the way against New York with 22 points and 8 rebounds and was named the Eastern Conference player of the month for August. Indiana has paced the Eastern Conference all season and is 2-1 against the Sky. In a loss in early August at Allstate Arena, the Fever focused on shutting down Fowles in the middle. But that opened up the perimeter game and the Sky drained 8-of-16 three-pointers. The Sky defense also held all-star forward Tamika Catchings, a former star at Stevenson High School, to just 8 points on 2 of 6 field goals. The Fever, coming off a 28-point loss at Connecticut, has lost three straight and is 7-8 on the road.

Next: Sky at Minnesota Lynx, 7 p.m. Thursday