While the Indiana Fever were receiving backlash for keeping under wraps the injury that stopped Caitlin Clark from playing against the Portland Fire, some felt it was a deliberate move to keep her fresh for their next game.

The superstar point guard is just returning to the rigors of the WNBA after not playing competitive basketball for nearly eight months.

She did play and won the MVP award at the FIBA regional qualifiers in Puerto Rico, but basketball fans know it was not as tough a competition as the FIBA World Cup would be, or even the W.

A player being out for that long needs to get into playing rhythm, and that is what some fans felt was lost when the Fever chose to sit her out against the Fire.

Either or both theories can be true, as Caitlin Clark did seem a bit rusty in the first half of their game against the Golden State Valkyries. As a result, the Fever were trailing.

But an incident at the end of the first half was what helped the guard set the tone. She lashed out at Janelle Salaun, and teammates had to intervene and separate them.

The French forward had pushed the 6'0″ guard on the previous play, and the Fever star retaliated by trying to knock the ball out of Salaun's hands.

Then, Clark yelled something to the tune of 'don't try that,' possibly trying to suggest not to push her off. This changed the dynamic of the game, as the Iowa native then came out in the third quarter, fired up.

The sequence of events was something similar to how superstar athletes do. Once they get something to light that fire inside them, it is difficult to stop them.

In the third quarter, Caitlin Clark looked like a player possessed. She was zinging passes to her teammates and also running rings around the Golden State Valkyries players.

In the middle of that quarter, after gathering the rebound, Lexie Hull dribbled down the floor and then passed the rock to Kelsey Mitchell. Immediately, three opposing players tried to close her down.

Then, the veteran noticed her playmaker crossing over the halfway line and passed it to her. Clark caught it a few inches away from the logo and launched without hesitation.

As it went in, the 24-year-old stepped up to Tiffany Hayes and started talking trash to the veteran. The two have some history, and the former Sixth Player of the Year responded in kind. Caitlin Clark was then seen gesturing with her hand to the tune that this battle was between the two of them.

Caitlin Clark's trash talk and taunting are usually synonymous. Rival coaches know all too well how it can get whenever something stokes her.

But this game was not without mistakes. After she helped the Fever rally from a deficit to take a double-digit lead, the game slowed down. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, she committed a turnover, after which she turned to her teammates to apologize.

No, it's my fault. Sorry.

No, it's my fault. Sorry.

The video shows her getting back to her humble self that fans also love. She knows that it was a mistake she and her teammates could do without. The Valkyries tried to close in from that point onwards, and were even within 4 points.

The Fever needs to avoid making mistakes late in games, as it tends to allow opposing teams to get the lead back. They have already lost a game doing that. Thankfully, there was no repeat this time.

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