UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Alyssa Thomas recorded the 15th triple-double of her career and threw a spanner in the works for Caitlin Clark’s playoff debut as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Indiana Fever 93-69 on Sunday in the first game of their best-of-three series.

Thomas finished with 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds to record her fourth triple-double in the postseason.

Marina Mabrey led the third-seeded Sun with 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half. It was the most points scored by a reserve in WNBA playoff history, according to ESPN Research.

The second game is Wednesday night in Connecticut, with a deciding third game on Friday night in Indiana if necessary.

Clark, who was announced as AP Rookie of the Year earlier in the day, finished with 11 points, rebounding from a rough start. She also had eight assists. Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points and Aliyah Boston added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana.

The Sun entered the game with 222 playoff games under their belt, while the Fever had only 19, including none of their starters. This was Indiana’s first playoff appearance since 2016. Connecticut coach Stephanie White was in charge of the Fever that year.

After a back-and-forth first 16 minutes, Indiana led 36-34 with 3:45 left in the first half. The Sun then took over, closing the first 20 minutes on a 12-2 run.

DeWanna Bonner had four points and an emphatic block of a layup by Clark during the spurt. Bonner finished the first 20 minutes with 16 points. Clark had a quiet first half, scoring just three points and making one of her nine shots.

She missed her first two shots of the third quarter before the Fever called a timeout. Clark hit the bench in frustration. That seemed to get her going as she made her next three shots to rally the Fever, but it wasn’t enough as Mabrey matched her shot for shot, scoring 11 points in the third. Clark finished 4-for-17.

The first half also had a bit of everything with a stoppage 48 seconds into the game for Indiana to challenge a foul called on the wrong player. It was successful. About 45 seconds later, Clark was accidentally poked in the right eye by DiJonai Carrington and was on the ground for a moment before walking off the court.

A few minutes later, Tyasha Harris injured her right leg while trying to defend a shot. She had to be helped off the court and later returned to the bench with that ankle heavily wrapped.