Satou Sabally scored a team-high 19 points, Alyssa Thomas notched a record-breaking triple-double and the visiting Phoenix Mercury staved off the Los Angeles Sparks 92-84 Tuesday.
Thomas scored 11 of her 12 points in the second half while finishing with 16 rebounds and 15 assists. Thomas broke her own single-season record by posting her seventh triple-double of the year
The Mercury (23-14) broke a virtual tie with the New York Liberty for fourth in the WNBA standings. They did so with a highly efficient offensive game. Phoenix had 28 assists on 33 made baskets, and its bench shot 9-for-15 from 3-point range.
Sami Whitcomb (17 points) went 5 of 7 and DeWanna Bonner (14 points) was 2 of 4 from deep to lead that attack. Kahleah Copper also added 18 points for Phoenix.
Dearica Hamby tallied 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Sparks (17-19), Rickea Jackson had 21 points despite an injury scare and Kelsey Plum scored 20.
Los Angeles trailed by six after the opening quarter but soon rallied for its first lead. Hamby made a layup, grabbed a steal off Monique Akoa Makani and scored again in a span of nine seconds. Hamby was fouled on the latter, and her free throw put the Sparks ahead 25-24.
Bonner answered with a 3-pointer and Copper had two baskets to help the Mercury restore an eight-point lead. Hamby helped the Sparks get within three in the final minute of the half but Phoenix rookie Lexi Held hit a pull-up and then assisted Whitcomb for a 3-pointer in the dying seconds for a 48-40 halftime lead.
Jackson swished a pair of 3-pointers to bring Los Angeles within 54-50 with 6:31 left in the quarter. The Mercury got triples from Sabally and Kathryn Westbeld in response, and Copper added a three-point play to forge the largest lead of the game at 13 points with 3:57 to go.
In the final minute of the quarter, Jackson crumpled to the ground following some lower-body contact with Sabally near midcourt. She was down for a few minutes before being able to walk off with an apparent right ankle injury, but she returned midway through the fourth frame.
Whitcomb knocked down two long 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the fourth to make it a 76-60 game. The Sparks could not get it back within single digits until the final 1:35, by which point it was too late.
–Field Level Media
