Alyssa Thomas reached another WNBA milestone on Wednesday afternoon, recording her 20th career regular-season triple-double as the Phoenix Mercury held off the Los Angeles Sparks 86-82 at Crypto.com Arena.
The veteran forward finished with 19 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds — her sixth triple-double in the postseason, bringing her combined total to 26. Thomas orchestrated the Mercury offense down the stretch, assisting on seven of the team's last eight baskets. Her final pass found Monique Akoa Makani for a decisive basket with 14 seconds remaining, sealing the result.
Kahleah Copper led Phoenix in scoring with 21 points, while Akoa Makani contributed 14 and Natasha Mack added 10 off the bench. The Mercury (10-18) won consecutive games for the first time since mid-June, bouncing back from a six-game losing streak with a sharp offensive performance — shooting 12-of-18 from the floor with 10 assists in the fourth quarter alone.
Rae Burrell paced the Sparks (10-16) with 20 points. Dearica Hamby recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds but missed a contested driving layup that would have tied the game with 19 seconds to play. Ariel Atkins added 15 points, and Nneka Ogwumike posted 13 points and 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season.
Ogwumike's night carried historical significance. With her ninth rebound of the contest, she surpassed Candace Parker (2,902) for second place on the Sparks' all-time rebounding list, trailing only Lisa Leslie.
The Mercury carried a 43-41 lead into halftime behind a combined 32 points from Copper, Thomas and Akoa Makani. Los Angeles responded in the third quarter, with Cameron Brink and Burrell hitting three-pointers in the final 63 seconds to level the score at 60 heading into the fourth.
Copper ignited the decisive run in the final period with a basket and an assist, and Phoenix extended the lead to 79-72 with 3:46 remaining — a margin that held despite a late Sparks surge.
Phoenix will host the Golden State Valkyries on July 29, while Los Angeles returns home to face the New York Liberty on Tuesday.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/mercury-sparks-score-779ebb9b39468567f8d4f32dc8c76a47
