Satou Sabally scored 25 points Wednesday night and Alyssa Thomas added six of her 19 in the final two-plus minutes as the Phoenix Mercury held off the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 89-86.
Sabally canned two foul shots with 17.8 seconds left for an 86-82 edge. After Kelsey Plum sank two of three free throws with 15.6 ticks remaining to chop the margin to two, Sabally added a free throw to make it 87-84 with 14.6 seconds on the clock.
Plum converted a leaning jumper with her foot on the 3-point line with 4.0 seconds left that shaved the margin to a point. But Sabally converted a pair of foul shots with 3.0 seconds remaining and Plum’s halfcourt heave as time expired was short.
Monique Akoa Makani contributed 11 points for Phoenix (2-0), which forced 17 turnovers and converted those into 23 points. That allowed the Mercury to overcome 41.8 percent shooting from the field.
Plum scored a team-high 25 points, including her 500th career 3-pointer in the game’s final minute, but also committed eight turnovers. Azura Stevens added 23 points plus a game-high 17 rebounds, and Dearica Hamby hit for 15 points.
Sabally got Phoenix off to a fast start with seven points in the first 4:06 but Plum responded for Los Angeles with six first-quarter points, plus a pair of assists. An 8-0 run late in the quarter allowed the Mercury to take a 23-19 advantage to the second.
But the Sparks solved Phoenix’s defense in the second quarter with Stevens leading the way. After trailing by 11 at one point, Los Angeles exploded for a 23-3 run that gave it a 42-33 advantage and went to the locker room up 46-42.
However, the Mercury clamped down completely in a 24-7 third-quarter burst. They held the Sparks scoreless for the first 3:32 and Thomas worked her all-around magic, accounting for eight straight points at one stage with a pair of assists on 3-pointers and a layup. It allowed Phoenix to take a 66-53 cushion to the fourth period.
–Field Level Media
