Caitlin Clark scores 29 to help Fever fend off Mercury rally in 98-89 win before sellout crowd

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark looked re-energized after taking a month off for the WNBA Olympic break.

The Phoenix Mercury’s three U.S. Olympic team members couldn’t keep up with her Friday night.

Clark scored 13 of her 29 points in the first quarter, added 10 assists and four 3-pointers and helped the Indiana Fever fend off Phoenix's furious second-half rally to restart the season with a critical 98-89 victory.

“You knew they were going to come in here with a lot of confidence, with three people that have won gold medals,” said Clark, who was left off the Olympic roster. “You know their confidence is really high and I thought we came out and really set the tone.”

It wasn't just Clark, who posted her 10th double-double of the season, either.

Kelsey Mitchell made six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points and Aliyah Boston outplayed Brittney Griner, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds as the Fever swept the three-game season series to add even more fuel to the budding rivalry between Clark and three-time WNBA champion Diana Taurasi.

The barbs began in April when Taurasi predicted Clark, the No. 1 overall draft pick, would face a rude awakening in her first pro season. Phoenix stoked the fire again this week with a Twitter video that included a young fan asking, “Who’s Caitlin? I’m here for Taurasi.”

Twice during the game brief scuffles broke out, including one between Mitchell and the Mercury's Natasha Cloud that resulted in double technical fouls. The other involved Griner and Boston.

But whether it was Indiana (12-15) being motivated by the chance to face three Olympians, having a chance at their first season sweep of any team since 2020 or the Mercury dealing with the fatigue of the Paris Games followed by two road games in two days, Taurasi and her teammates certainly weren’t themselves early.

It proved costly as the Mercury (14-13) fell into a 48-20 deficit midway through the second quarter.

“I think you can see it in their faces, you know, they're tired,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “There's going to be better days, for sure. We've just got to understand these games are going to come quick here, but I know all three of them are ready to sleep in their own beds.”

While one Olympic gold medalist, Kahleah Copper, finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, Phoenix’s other two — Taurasi and Griner — combined for just 12 points in the first half. Taurasi wound up with 16 points, but Griner had 10 points and four rebounds and dealt with foul trouble.

Still, the weary trio found a way to spur a comeback. Phoenix cut the halftime deficit to 54-37 and opened the second half on 25-7 run to take a 62-61 lead late in the third quarter.

After Clark returned, the Fever rebounded thanks to Mitchell's deft shooting and a Katie Lou Samuelson buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a 73-65 lead. The Fever never trailed again in front of another sellout crowd.

“Yeah, it was pretty fun. I think we came out with a lot of energy,” Clark said with a smile when asked about the fast start. “I think there's times where we could have crumbled, but we just kept battling and fighting and I thought it was a really good one for us.”

Former Fever star and Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings addressed the crowd during a first quarter timeout to celebrate the city's selection as next season's All-Star Game host. Catchings will be one of five co-chairs on the local organizing committee.

The league announced Indiana's selection Wednesday. The game will be played July 19. Phoenix hosted this year's All-Star weekend. Indiana hosted the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

Before tipoff, the Fever paid tribute to the late Jim Morris, former vice chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment and an instrumental figure in the Fever franchise. He died in mid-July. Following a video, the Fever unveiled Morris' banner in the rafters.

He's the ninth player, coach or executive to be so honored and the first to have been honored for both the Fever and Pacers franchises.

Mercury: Hosts the Chicago Sky on Sunday.

Fever: Hosts the Seattle Storm on Sunday.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith (1) goes to the basket against Phoenix Mercury's Natasha Cloud (0) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever's Aliyah Boston (7) shoots during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever's Lexie Hull (10) is defended by Phoenix Mercury's Sophie Cunningham, right, during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots against Phoenix Mercury's Natasha Cloud (0) and Kahleah Copper (2) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark hugs Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi (3) before the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell, left, and Phoenix Mercury's Natasha Cloud, second from right, have to be separated during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (0) and Phoenix Mercury's Natasha Cloud (0) have to be separated during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell, left, goes to the basket against Phoenix Mercury's Sophie Cunningham (9) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides talks to players from the sidelines during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Phoenix Mercury's Kahleah Copper (2) is fouled by Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark (22) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, left, goes to the basket against Phoenix Mercury's Brittney Griner, right, during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, left, reacts with fans after hitting a shot and getting fouled during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Phoenix Mercury's Kahleah Copper (2) shoots over Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, right, hugs Phoenix Mercury's Brittney Griner (42) before a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts argues a call during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Indiana Fever, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) shoots against Phoenix Mercury's Sophie Cunningham during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The U.S. secretary of state said Thursday the United States will continue to press Israel to do more to spare humanitarian sites in the Gaza Strip, a day after an Israeli airstrike on a U.N. school complex sheltering displaced Palestinians killed 14 people there, including six U.N. staffers.

Meanwhile, Turkey announced its own probe into the death of a Turkish-American activist who was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week while protesting settlements in the occupied West Bank. And a Syrian pro-government media outlet and an opposition war monitor said an Israeli strike hit a car in southern Syria on Thursday, killing two people.

The deaths at the U.N. school on Wednesday came amid a spate of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza that killed at least 34 Palestinians, according to local officials. Among those killed were 19 women and children, they said.

The Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war. They abducted another 250 and are still holding around 100. Around a third of them are believed to be dead.

Here's the latest:

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The World Health Organization says medical teams in Gaza are wrapping up the final day of an emergency polio vaccination campaign following the discovery of the territory’s first-known case of the illness in more than 25 years.

Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the U.N. health agency’s representative, told reporters in a news conference from Gaza that the health workers had reached more than an estimated 552,000 children under the age of 5. They used a new oral polio vaccine targeting the specific type of polio seen in Gaza, which is a mutated strain that originated in an older oral vaccine.

Peeperkorn said WHO and its partners have yet to do a final analysis of how many children were actually covered, but added that it was more than expected. On Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said more than half a million Gaza children have been vaccinated.

“We are quite confident that we reached an enormous amount of children in this short time,” Peeperkorn said, referring to the four-day vaccination campaign. He said authorities were aiming to cover more than 90% of children in this immunization round and in the second one, to be held next month.

WARSAW — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States will continue to urge Israel to do more to spare humanitarian sites in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike on a U.N. school complex sheltering displaced Palestinians killed six U.N. staffers.

When asked on Thursday at a news conference in the Polish capital about Israel’s bombing of the school complex in central Gaza the day before, Blinken told reporters that “we need to see humanitarian sites protected.”

“That’s something we continue to raise with Israel,” he said.

Wednesday's strike on the U.N.-supported al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School in Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, hospital officials said. Among those killed were six staffers from the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, known as UNRWA, the main U.N. relief agency in Gaza.

UNRWA described the strike as the deadliest single incident for its staff members. Among those killed at the school, it said, were the manager of the shelter and others working to help the thousands of displaced people taking refuge there, including teachers.

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said at least 220 UNRWA staffers have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s military offensive began in response to Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school.

Blinken blamed Hamas for continuing to hide its fighters among civilians and said the bombing “underscores the urgency" of reaching a cease-fire in the embattled territory.

CAIRO — The World Health Organization says the United Arab Emirates has evacuated nearly 100 critically wounded and sick Palestinians from Gaza, including cancer patients, for medical treatment in the Gulf Arab state.

The U.N. health agency said on Thursday that a total of 252 Palestinians from Gaza, including 97 patients and their relatives, flew the previous day to Abu Dhabi in the UAE from the Ramon airport in Israel.

It was the biggest exit of Palestinian medical patients in Gaza through Israel since the war began.

WHO said that the patients, among them 45 children and 52 adults, were suffering from severe injuries or critical conditions such as brain tumors and amputations. It was the second such evacuation flight that the UAE has coordinated to provide advanced medical care to Palestinians.

With few exceptions, Israel has barred Gaza’s Palestinians from entering Israel throughout the war.

Gaza has been completely sealed off since May, when Israeli forces captured the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, including the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the coastal strip, leading to its closure.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli body that accredits journalists said on Thursday that it will revoke the press cards of Al-Jazeera reporters working in the country.

The move comes after Israel shut down the Qatar-based broadcaster’s local operations in May. Authorities already prevent Al-Jazeera broadcasts and block its websites.

Israel accuses Al-Jazeera of incitement and threatening national security over its coverage of the war in Gaza.

Nitzan Chen, the director of the Government Press Office, said “the use of GPO cards in the course of the journalists’ work could in itself jeopardize state security at this time of military emergency.”

Al-Jazeera denies the allegations and has accused Israel of trying to silence its coverage.

With several correspondents reporting from inside Gaza, the channel has provided round-the-clock coverage of the war since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that ignited it. Its coverage has focused on civilian casualties in Gaza, and it often airs Hamas videos and statements in their entirety.

Israeli strikes have killed four Al-Jazeera reporters since the start of the war. The government office said the revocation of the press cards would be subject to a hearing. It will apply to Al-Jazeera journalists and broadcasters but not producers or photographers. Turkey launches its own probe into the killing of Turkish-American activist in the West Bank

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s justice minister says his country is investigating the death of a Turkish-American activist shot and killed by Israeli forces last week while protesting settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The 26-year-old activist from Seattle was taking part in a demonstration against settlements in the Palestinian territory when she was fatally shot last Friday. Israel is investigating the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and its military later said she was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by soldiers.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Thursday that the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office was leading the Turkish probe. He also called on U.N. agencies, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, to investigate.

Tunc said Turkey would present its findings to a U.N. court overseeing a genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa over the war in Gaza.

“We will take every judicial step for our martyred daughter, Aysenur,” Tunc said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Eygi’s body was likely to be brought to Turkey on Friday. Her burial is scheduled to take place in the Aegean coastal town of Didim, in western Turkey, in line with her family’s wishes.

BEIRUT — A Syrian pro-government radio and a war-monitoring group say an Israeli strike hit a car in southern Syria, killing two people. The Sham FM didn’t give further details on the Thursday morning strike on the village of Khan Arnabeh, near Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, also reported that two people were killed in the airstrike, without giving further details.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has carried out such airstrikes over the past months on the edge of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in 1981. Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked militants.

Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, where thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed. Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

People inspect the destruction following an Israeli forces raid in Tulkarem, West Bank, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

An Israeli soldier aims her rifle during an army raid in Tubas, West Bank, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

An Israeli tank overlooks the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Palestinian flags are seen during a vigil on Alki Beach for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old activist from Seattle, who was killed recently in the West Bank, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Ezgi is spelled in candles on the sand during a vigil on Alki Beach for Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old activist from Seattle, who was killed recently in the West Bank, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)