Aliyah Boston got emotional as she helped her Indiana Fever teammate off the floor Tuesday night.

Kelsey Mitchell — the Fever’s all-WNBA guard and catalyst to their unprecedented postseason run — went down with a leg injury midway through the third quarter and after being tended to by trainers for several minutes, she refused the stretcher that was brought out for her and instead leaned on her teammates to help her off the floor.

It was an unfortunately familiar situation for the Fever, who lost six players to season-ending injuries this season, four of which occurred in-game. 

So as Boston helped Mitchell down the Aces’ tunnel to an ovation from the crowd and well-wishes from players on both teams, she focused on keeping her teammate calm and getting her to take slow breaths.

“Once she walked off the court, it was time to focus on rallying around her,” Boston said following the Fever’s season-ending 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals.

Fever coach Stephanie White told reporters Mitchell was dealing with “a lot” of lower-body cramping and had been taken to the hospital for fluids.

The injury to Mitchell was, in a word, devastating.

In a season marred by injuries and off-the-court drama, No. 0 was one of the few constants and White spoke throughout the playoffs about her importance to both this year’s team and the franchise as a whole. 

Mitchell endured the darkest times of Fever basketball and was finally being rewarded (and recognized) for staying with the team that drafted her second overall in the 2018 WNBA Draft.

She was downright dominant at times during the regular season and outright prolific during the postseason, averaging 23.3 points and 3.1 assists entering Tuesday’s decisive Game 5.

“She’s just had a phenomenal season,” said Aces forward A’ja Wilson, who took the press conference stage by herself and began by offering support for Mitchell. 

“First off, prayers for Kelsey Mitchell,” the four-time MVP said. “That’s my draft partner and to see her go down like that was not good. So super prayers out to her. … I really hope the Indiana Fever continue to take care of her, because she’s a gem. We don’t talk every single day, of course, but she’s a phenomenal person and I hated seeing her go down.”

There was confusion, initially, when Mitchell went down.

The players were relocating and play was seemingly about to resume when the ESPN feed cut to Mitchell down on the court as players from both teams encircled her with towels to shield her from the crowd and cameras.

Replays of the preceding sequence showed Mitchell rubbing the top of her knee after hitting a 3-pointer. She played through, but following the ensuing Fever possession, she started walking slowly across the lane and leaned on the referee, who helped her to the floor.

Mitchell remained on the floor and teams returned to their respective benches as she was tended to by trainers, then helped off the floor.

She finished her final game of the season with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3 for 3 from 3) and two assists in 23 minutes, 15 seconds.

“We’ve been in this position before, right? We’ve been in this position. We have to play for our teammates. We have to fight for our teammates. Tooth and nail,” White told her players during a fourth-quarter timeout. “Ain’t nobody in a better position to do this than us, but we have to stay locked in in everything we do. We have to feel it, but when we step onto the floor, we have to honor it in everything we do.”

Dealt yet another crippling blow, the Fever continued to fight — same as they have all season — making their way back from a seven-point deficit over the final five minutes to force overtime.

“Prayers up for Kelsey,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Nobody wants to see anyone carried off the court like that ever, so just hats off to them (for fighting through adversity). I thought they did an unbelievable job all the way around. … The resiliency of this group — they just would not go away.” 

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kelsey Mitchell injury update, Fever star has lower-body cramps vs Aces