Caitlin Clark played down her altercation with Angel Reese during the Indiana Fever's victory over the Chicago Sky, insisting she "wasn't trying to do anything malicious".

Clark recorded the third triple-double of her career, with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, as the Fever inflicted a 93-58 rout on their opponents in the opening game of the WNBA season.

However, the point guard was involved in a flashpoint during the third quarter, when she committed a hard foul on Reese's arm in the paint that was subsequently upgraded to a flagrant one for what was deemed "unnecessary contact".

Reese, who had fallen to the floor, then went after Clark, and the pair exchanged words before they were eventually separated.

"Let's not make it anything it's not," Clark said. "I'm not sure what the refs saw to upgrade it; that's up to their discretion after watching the initial whatever happened during the play and whatever happened afterwards.

"It's a take foul to put them at the free throw line rather than give up two points. That's exactly what it was. I wasn't trying to do anything malicious."

Saturday also marked the first game of Stephanie White's second spell as head coach, having returned in November following her departure from the Connecticut Sun.

"I am proud of this group," she said. "We have a lot of young players, we have a lot of veterans.

"Nobody's going to get anything easy against us; we're going to be a tough defensive team. You're going to feel us."