Phoenix Mercury limit Caitlin Clark hype in first half vs. Indiana Fever

In a packed house that included plenty of Caitlin Clark jerseys, the Phoenix Mercury are doing everything to simmer down the hype surrounding the Indiana Fever on Sunday at Footprint Center.

Moving away from Friday’s rough start on defense, the Mercury held the Fever to an 0-for-5 start and went on a game-opening 8-0 run. From there, the Mercury never lost the lead and went into halftime leading 49-38. Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi led all scorers with 13 points.

The Mercury had to look for Clark, but Indiana center Aliyah Boston, another No. 1 overall pick, had an exciting matchup against Griner. Boston scored a team-leading 10 points in the first half. Clark committed five turnovers and was limited to three points in the first quarter. She finished with seven points in the first half.

Tempers flared at 4:48 in the second quarter when Mercury guard Natasha Cloud had to be restrained by head coach Nate Tibbetts and team security when she got into a heated argument with Fever forward Temi Fagbenle. Cloud, Fagbenle, Kahleah Copper and Erica Wheeler all received technical fouls from the interaction.

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Caitlin Clark praises Diana Taurasi ahead of first matchup

Caitlin Clark went from idolizing Diana Taurasi to facing her on the court at Footprint Center.

The Indiana Fever rookie listed the Mercury star as one of the players she grew up watching while getting into basketball during a pregame press conference ahead of her first game in Phoenix.

The 20-year age difference between the guards is the largest difference between two starting guards in the WNBA.

“She was probably one of the first women’s basketball players I grew up idolizing and knowing. Her, Sue (Bird, Maya (Moore),” Clark said. “That’s kind of my first memory of the WNBA in general was she was one of the first that I really knew about and supported and idolized and wanted to be like.

“I just admired the way she played the game and the fire she played with. It’s impressive that she’s able to play this game at such a high level and produce the way she does. It’s incredible, she’s the best scorer this game has ever seen and one of the best players our game has ever seen.”

Taurasi, a six-time Olympian with 20 years of experience in the league, received backlash over her controversial warning for Clark ahead of this year’s WNBA season.

“Look, SVP, reality is coming,” Taurasi told SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt about Clark. “There’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side.

“You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to (be playing against) some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”  

Taurasi added that Clark would have a transition period and should give herself grace. Clark averages 16.2 points per game and is 16th in the league in scoring. She leads the league in turnovers with 106.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Half-time update for Mercury, Fever showdown in Phoenix