Phoenix point forward and MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas is bringing a couple of WNBA records into the Mercury’s game against the visiting Chicago Sky on Thursday.
Thomas set a league record with 31 assists over a two-game stretch while posting her second straight triple-double in the Mercury’s 92-84 victory at the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.
“This has been my game my entire career,” Thomas said. “A lot of credit to my teammates. I’m able to be comfortable and play my game. I just take what the game gives me, whether it is scoring, rebounding, assisting, along with playing defense.
“My greatest job is getting my teammates easy, open shots. I take a lot of pride in doing that.”
Thomas also extended her league season record with her seventh triple-double, which was her sixth in the last 10 games as the Mercury (23-14) push for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. She leads the league with 9.3 assists per contest, over three more than anyone else.
“She’s doing this every night, “guard Kahleah Copper said. “She’s too tough to guard. She can score. You really want to take away her vision because she can pass. It’s a matchup problem every night. She makes it easier for us. We don’t have to force it.”
The Mercury had five players in double figures at Los Angeles, led by Satou Sabally (19) and Copper (18). Reserve guard Sami Whitcomb had 17 points and five threes off the bench.
“We’re undefeated when we have five or more people in double figures,” Thomas said. “I think that’s what makes us dangerous. It could be anybody’s night.”
The Sky (9-28) were eliminated from the playoffs last week and have lost 15 of 17 since beating the league-leading Minnesota Lynx 87-81 on July 12. However, they’ve gotten solid contributions from twin posts Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso as well as scoring guard Ariel Atkins.
Atkins had a season-high 30 points in a 79-74 home loss to the streaking Las Vegas Aces on Monday, while both Reese and Cardoso had double-doubles. Reese is tied with Thomas with a league-high 20 double-doubles.
“I knew there was going to be a lot of focus on Kamilla down low,” said Atkins, who has averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the last three games.
“Obviously, ‘Milla and Angel hold a lot of weight down low. It opens up a lot for us guards. Also, it’s exciting because they are willing to pass as well.”
–Field Level Media
