Alyssa Thomas totaled 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the host Phoenix Mercury recorded a 79-73 victory over the New York Liberty in the deciding third game of a first-round series on Friday night.
The fourth-seeded Mercury advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2021 and will open their next series Sunday against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx.
Satou Sabally paced the Mercury with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Thomas made several clutch plays down the stretch to help Phoenix overcome a 30-point showing by Breanna Stewart.
Sami Whitcomb added 13 off the bench and Kahleah Copper contributed a dozen. Neither team shot over 37 percent from the floor, but the Mercury did hit 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from long distance and outrebounded New York, 49-33.
Stewart scored all 14 points of the Liberty’s points in the fourth quarter but it was not nearly enough for the defending champions, who shot 33.8 percent and missed 17 of their final 18 3-point attempts to finish at 21.9 percent (7-of-32).
Sabrina Ionescu added 22 but Jonquel Jones was held to three points on 1-of-10 shooting after winning the WNBA finals MVP last season.
Thomas posted her fifth career postseason triple-double and seventh in WNBA history. The star forward reached double digits in assists and rebounds during Phoenix’s 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter.
With 5:40 remaining, Thomas blocked Stewart near the rim and secured the defensive rebound. She then notched her 10th assist by finding Whitcomb in the right corner for an uncontested trey to push Phoenix’s lead to 72-64 with 5:26 left.
Whitcomb’s long-range bucket hardly sealed matters for the Mercury and New York sliced the lead to 74-71 on Stewart’s turnaround hook shot with 2:17 remaining. After DeWanna Bonner missed a 17-footer, the Mercury denied Stewart the ball and Jones missed a 3-point try with 1:38 left.
Following a timeout, Bonner got a 13-footer to bounce in just before the shot clock expired with 1:13 left. Stewart countered quickly, converting two free throws with 1:10 to go and Thomas was called for an offensive foul on Ionescu.
With a chance to tie the game, Natasha Cloud’s inbounds pass to Stewart under the rim was stolen by Thomas with 53.1 seconds remaining. Copper converted a driving layup with 32.8 seconds left to put Phoenix up 78-73.
Before taking over in the fourth, the Mercury held a 45-41 lead at halftime and led 60-59 into the fourth. The Liberty were within 65-64 after Stewart’s 3-point play with 6:51 left but Thomas found Bonner for a short jumper on the next trip to start the deciding spurt.
–Field Level Media
