INDIANAPOLIS — As point guard phenoms on the court and the league’s most recognizable names off of it, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers dueled for just the third time in their WNBA careers Friday. The pair of No. 1 picks gave the fans their money’s worth.

Clark steered her Indiana Fever to a 98-87 victory with 29 points, 10 assists and three rebounds, while Bueckers carried the Dallas Wings with 29 points, six assists and six rebounds.

Indiana (22-12) has won three straight games and eight of its last 10. Dallas (20-15), meanwhile, has lost six of its last eight.

Third-quarter duel

Clark and Bueckers put on a show in the third quarter, helping their teams emerge from sluggish first halves. Bueckers erupted for 13 points in the frame, tied for the most she’s scored in any quarter this season. The two-time All-Star shot 4-of-6 from the field and drilled two 3s.

Not to be outdone, Clark exploded for 17 points in the period, tying the most points she’s notched in any quarter of her career on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Earlier this season, when Clark scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of an eventual overtime loss to the Washington Mystics, she drilled five 3s. This time around, Clark used the gravity of her outside shooting to blow by the Wings’ overzealous perimeter defenders for several easy shots in the paint and at the rim.

Clark’s injury scare

Clark briefly exited Friday’s game, appearing to tweak her left ankle after accidentally stepping on the foot of Wings forward Alysha Clark in the second quarter. She left with 40.4 seconds remaining in the half.

Clark immediately started limping and grimaced as she was subbed out. The three-time All-Star gingerly walked past her team’s bench and went straight to the locker room. However, she started the second half and showed no signs of her injury scare.

With only 13 appearances, Clark’s playing time last year was severely limited due to a slew of injuries. She has been much healthier this season, appearing in 30 of 34 games despite managing a season-long back injury.

Mitchell keeps streak alive

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell scored 8 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter to extend her WNBA single-season record to 18 straight games with at least 20 points. Mitchell was stuck at 19 points late in the fourth quarter before Clark connected with her on a backdoor pass for a layup, keeping her streak alive.

Mitchell is now two games shy of tying the WNBA record of 20 straight 20-point games, currently held by Las Vegas Aces superstar and four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson. Wilson set the record across the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Shorthanded Wings

The Wings were without All-Star forward Jessica Shepard, who missed her second straight game due to an ankle injury. Azzi Fudd, the 2026 No. 1 pick, was also sidelined, missing her fourth straight game due to a knee injury.

Aside from Bueckers, who shot 11-of-21 from the field, the Wings struggled to find consistent and efficient offense. Arike Ogunbowale contributed 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but the rest of Dallas’ starters shot a combined 9-of-24 from the floor.

The Denver Broncos cruised to a 27-7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Friday in their preseason opener, pushing their winning streak in exhibition games to eight dating back to 2023.

Here are the key takeaways:

Rookie RB ready to make impact

Jonah Coleman took the handoff from Jarrett Stidham and almost immediately made a jump cut to his left. Two quick steps later, he made another cut, this time darting inside to maneuver past a would-be tackler. It went down as a 7-yard gain and a first down for Coleman, but it was also a window into why head coach Sean Payton, other Broncos offensive coaches and teammates have been so high on the rookie running back.

Coleman was quick and decisive while navigating the crowded real estate near the line of scrimmage. He rushed four times for 24 yards, and that didn’t include an impressive sprint to the edge for 9 yards that was wiped away by a penalty. He also caught a 5-yard pass that was negated by a defensive flag for illegal contact.

Payton has talked routinely in camp about Coleman being further along than other first-year backs in his ability to grasp pass-protection responsibilities. It’s a fact attributed, at least in part, to Coleman’s experience in a pro-style system at Washington that asks its running backs to contribute to all facets of the offense.

But Coleman wasn’t drafted in the fourth round just to block. The Broncos lacked punch up the middle in the run game last season after J.K. Dobbins went down with a Week 10 foot injury. Even if Dobbins can live up to his promise of playing in all 17 games for the first time in his career — or even be available for close to that many — the Broncos need other options they can rely upon to produce consistently between the tackles. It was a brief opening act, but Coleman appears to be up to the task.

Stidham with a sturdy opening act

There may not have been another Broncos player who was more eager to get on the field Friday night than Stidham. His last appearance came in the AFC Championship Game, a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots that ended with a few painful what-ifs hanging in the air for him and the Broncos.

Stidham turned in a sharp and efficient performance Friday, completing 9 of 15 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. It certainly didn’t wipe away all that frustration that came with falling just shy of the Super Bowl seven months ago, but it was an important step for a veteran quarterback who is trying to hold onto the job as backup to Bo Nix, who did not play Friday. Stidham whipped a pass to Pat Bryant on a comeback route for 15 yards on the game’s first play. He fired a ball up the seam to Courtland Sutton for 40 yards later in the drive to set up an opening touchdown. He evaded some pressure later in the first half to hit Jaleel McLaughlin for a 6-yard touchdown.

It was the kind of steady and productive performance Stidham has regularly turned in during his preseason appearances the past three seasons, with splashes of a deep ball that showed up with a 52-yard pass to Marvin Mims in that title-game appearance. Sam Ehlinger, who is trying to earn the backup job during his second offseason with the Broncos, played the second half and produced some nice moments. He didn’t play behind Denver’s first-team offensive line and didn’t have access to the team’s top available playmakers, but he still completed 10 of 14 passes for 67 yards and led the Broncos into field-goal range three times — though the Broncos failed to convert on two of those chances. Ehlinger helped extend drives with his feet, including a 9-yard scamper that set up a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Perhaps most importantly, both quarterbacks ran a smooth operation with Davis Webb, the team’s newly promoted offensive coordinator, calling the plays. The opening drive called by Webb was a brilliant blur — a six-play, 69-yard march that wrapped up in a little more than three minutes. The Broncos were rarely fighting the play clock. Huddles were efficient. Webb and Payton will lament converting only 5-of-14 attempts on third down, but the Broncos generally appeared in sync operationally.

Next up for Webb: Calling plays into Nix’s ear for the first time in game action during next week’s preseason home opener against the Green Bay Packers.

Rest working wonders for Sutton?

Sutton had a spectator’s view for much of Denver’s second week of training camp. The veteran wide receiver was held out of team drills for three straight practices, part of a plan presented to Sutton this offseason aimed at helping him be more fresh heading into January than he was last season.

The plan’s success, or lack thereof, can’t be determined until the end of the season, but Sutton on Friday certainly looked like a player who benefited from a couple of days of light work. Sutton caught three passes for 60 yards during his two drives of action. He hauled in a 40-yard pass from Stidham up the seam after leaping up and boxing out cornerback Mike Hughes, setting up Denver’s opening touchdown. The top highlight for Sutton, though, came during the team’s second possession, when he leaped up and hauled in a third-down pass from Stidham with one hand, securing the ball as he hit the ground on top of veteran corner C.J. Henderson, who had pinned Sutton’s other arm at his side.

Jaylen Waddle didn’t play Friday night as he continues to rehab a soft-tissue injury in his left leg, but the speedy new addition for the Broncos is expected to create more one-on-one matchups for Sutton on the perimeter. Friday provided a brief but clear reminder of what kind of headache that could be for opposing defensive coordinators.

Two undrafted rookie receivers also produced nice moments: Cameron Ross gained 28 yards on a jet-sweep rush to set up a Broncos touchdown in the first half. Joseph Manjack caught a pair of passes for 27 yards on Denver’s opening drive of the third quarter, including an impressive grab over the middle in heavy traffic.

Defensive depth on display in dominant performance

As the Falcons took the field for their fourth drive of Friday’s game, they were mirrored by a handful of Denver’s defensive starters. The reason: the first three Atlanta drives didn’t give the defense enough work.

Payton wanted his starters to see the field for roughly 15 plays in the preseason opener, but the Falcons ran only 13 plays on their first four possessions combined. It was a snapshot of the Broncos’ dominance Friday while displaying the depth that could make this one of the NFL’s top defenses.

The first nine possessions for the Falcons on Friday resulted in seven punts and two interceptions. The first of those was a pick over the middle by Riley Moss as he adjusted on a Cooper Rush throw that was behind his intended receiver. The second was produced by Jahdae Barron, who alertly snatched a ball out of the air that had been tipped by linebacker Karene Reid and then raced 97 yards for a touchdown. Barron, last year’s first-round pick, nearly had a second interception minutes later, but the ball squirted through his hands.

Outside linebackers Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto combined for three pressures. Defensive end Zach Allen added one pressure among his four pass-rush snaps. Malcolm Roach tipped a ball at the line of scrimmage that resulted in Moss’  interception. Further down the depth chart, Drew Sanders, healthy in this camp after missing all of last season due to injury, had a strong bull rush in the fourth quarter that ended in a sack of Falcons quarterback Jack Strand.

In the battle to become one of Denver’s inside linebackers to make the 53-man roster, Reid’s tipped pass, which came as he made a great jump on a hitch route near the goal line, was part of a strong overall performance for the second-year player. Levelle Bailey, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and didn’t return.