Diana Taurasi earned criticism from sports fans before the start of the 2024 WNBA season when she warned Caitlin Clark that "reality" was coming.
After Clark sparked the Indiana Fever’s comeback victory against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, Taurasi had nothing but praise for the rookie sharpshooter who nearly had a triple-double in their matchup.
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"It's amazing what Caitlin's been able to do in her short career so far," Taurasi told reporters via ESPN. "The one thing that I really love about her, she loves the game. You can tell she's put the work in. ... It's been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her, and she keeps showing up and keeps getting better every single game.
"So, her future is super bright, and being a veteran and being in this league for a long, long time, it is pretty cool to see that and go into the future."
The ESPN broadcast showed Clark and Taurasi talking on the court multiple times. Clark called Taurasi her childhood idol.
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"I’m just happy we won," Clark told ESPN’s Christine Williamson. "It was cool to play against [Taurasi], and obviously a really great game. This crowd was absolutely incredible."
Clark finished with 15 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in the win. Her 3-pointer with 5:48 left in the third quarter cut the deficit to five points. The assist to Kristy Wallace kept the Mercury’s lead at five.
Kelsey Mitchell also gave Indiana a much-needed boost. Mitchell’s jumper to take the lead with 36 seconds left proved to be the difference maker. She finished with 16 points.
Aliyah Boston led the Fever with 17 points. She had eight rebounds and four assists as well.
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