Caitlin Clark Powers Fever Past Wings 98-87 with 29 Points and 10 Assists

Q: Would the Dallas Wings have secured the upset if their roster wasn't decimated by crucial injuries?

Probably not, though a healthier Dallas roster would have made the upset more realistic. The Wings were competitive for a half despite being shorthanded. They led 37-35 at halftime, and Paige Bueckers was excellent with 29 points, six assists and six rebounds. Arike Ogunbowale added 20. That suggests Dallas had enough top-end shot creation to threaten Indiana. But the second half showed where the injuries likely mattered most. Indiana outscored Dallas 63-50 after halftime, including a 35-21 fourth quarter, with Caitlin Clark finishing with 29 points and 10 assists, Kelsey Mitchell adding 23, Aliyah Boston posting 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyasha Harris giving the Fever 12 points on 4-for-4 from three. Dallas, missing key contributors such as Azzi Fudd and Jessica Shepard, lacked the depth, rebounding help and lineup flexibility to match that sustained push. Shepard’s absence was especially significant because she is a major rebounder and frontcourt stabilizer, while Fudd would have added another perimeter scorer and spacer. Even so, saying Dallas would have won goes too far. Indiana was at home, had more continuity, and got stronger as the game progressed even after Clark’s ankle scare. The fairest read is that injuries reduced Dallas’ margin for error and likely hurt its chances of finishing the game, but the available evidence supports that the Wings might have pushed Indiana deeper into a toss-up rather than clearly secured the upset.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 15

Clark finished with 29 points and 10 assists as Indiana beat Dallas 98-87, matching Paige Bueckers point-for-point in the marquee guard duel.
A 17-point third quarter from Clark — after an ankle scare earlier — drove the game's biggest swing, while Bueckers answered with 13 points in the same period.
Bueckers still posted 29 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, but Indiana closed stronger and improved to 22-12 while Dallas fell to 20-15.
The performance gave Clark her 13th career WNBA game with at least 25 points and 10 assists, more than double Sabrina Ionescu's next-best total of six.
The latest Clark-Bueckers showdown came after Dallas won the season opener, and the teams meet again Aug. 20 in Dallas.