Phoenix Mercury respond to Griner ejection with confidence in 85-81 win over Los Angeles Sparks
Phoenix Mercury respond to Griner ejection with confidence in 85-81 win over Los Angeles Sparks
The Phoenix Mercury were down to just eight available players after center Brittney Griner was ejected along with Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson late in the second quarter.
LOS ANGELES – The Phoenix Mercury were in a fight, and not just one for a win over the Los Angeles Sparks.
With 18.1 seconds left in the first half, Mercury center Brittney Griner, who dominated with 14 points, locked arms with Sparks forward Rickea Jackson. The two exchanged words after an elbow from Griner, leading to pushing and shoving that cleared the Mercury bench.
“Nothing going on out there,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts joked. “Not a clear explanation (of what had happened).”
Griner, Jackson, Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham and Sparks guard Crystal Dangerfield were each called for technical fouls. Griner and Jackson, however, were ejected.
The Mercury (19-20) were then down from nine to eight players in the second half of their 85-81 win over the Sparks (7-32), which was enabled by a 26-6 third-quarter run and key shots from forward Kiki Herbert Harrigan, who made two threes to cut into Sparks runs. Herbert Harrigan hit a three with 4:42 left to give Phoenix a 74-66 lead after a 10-0 run and then hit another with 1:38 left to give the Mercury an 82-74 lead following an 8-0 run.
“I give our team credit,” Tibbetts said. “BG was our best player in the first half, and then she couldn’t come back.”
The Mercury entered Tuesday’s game locked into the No. 7 seed for the WNBA playoffs. Tibbetts joked with reporters pregame not to let him know the final score of the Minnesota Lynx’s 78-76 win over the Connecticut Sun, which determined Minnesota to be the Mercury’s first-round opponent starting in Game 1 on Sunday.
He also said the Mercury would look to restrict minutes for their stars even though they are still without guard/forward Kahleah Copper (back), forward Bec Allen (right hamstring) and guard Charisma Osborne (lower left leg). Osborne, who has not appeared in a game since June 28, was upgraded to doubtful on the injury report but did not play.
“It’s interesting, just kind of where I’ve come from the last 10 (to) 12 years), and our roster sizes,” said Tibbetts, who was previously an NBA assistant for eight playoff runs with the Portland Trail Blazers (2013-2021). “We’re the seventh seed. Not for any reason, but in the NBA, most nights like tonight, you’re probably resting your players to get ready for the playoffs because that’s now what is important.
“There’s definitely going to be a balance that I try to find … not at the expense of playing [Griner] 35 minutes.”
Griner played just 14 minutes before her ejection. Phoenix also was down to just two true bigs, forwards Natasha Mack and Monique Billings, without Griner.
That did not affect the Mercury, who trailed 44-36 at halftime and started the third quarter on a 12-2 run, forcing a timeout from Los Angeles with 7:14 left. Sparks center Li Yueru made a layup that tied the game at 48.
The Mercury never turned back on their dominant performance. Diana Taurasi, who played maybe her final game in Los Angeles, had 10 of her 13 points in the third quarter. She had five straight to help the Mercury go in front, 53-48, including three free throws.
According to Tibbetts, Taurasi “sat down” without objection from him before the fourth quarter. That is when things got dicey.
“The goal was to not run DT’s minutes up,” Tibbetts said.
Leading 71-56 with 7:32 to go, the Mercury succumbed to a 10-0 run from Los Angeles, which made just 13 second-half shots on 39 attempts (33.3%). The Sparks did not have a go-to offensive playmaker without Jackson and shot 4-of-18 (22.2%) in the third quarter.
Still, they had Dearica Hamby, who had a 3-pointer and a layup in the 10-0 run for the Sparks that sliced the Mercury lead to five points.
That is when Herbert Harrigan stepped in. On the Mercury’s social media channels, Tibbetts called Los Angeles Herbert Harrigan’s city.
“Just the work that I’ve put in throughout the whole season, just confidence,” Herbert Harrigan said.
The Mercury followed Herbert Harrigan’s first key three with five straight points. Guard Natasha Cloud hit a two-point shot and guard Sophie Cunningham hit a three, giving Phoenix a 79-66 lead with 3:44 left.
Hamby, who had 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, had five more points in the Sparks’ 8-0 run after that. Then, Herbert Harrigan hit another big shot for Phoenix.
“I just want to give that group (the bench) a ton of credit,” Tibbetts said. “For coming in, changing the game with their effort.”
Phoenix’s lead never fell to within two possessions thereafter until the buzzer, when guard Stephanie Talbot made an inside shot.
The Mercury will look ahead to their final regular season game on Thursday versus the Seattle Storm. It could very well be the final home game for Taurasi, who was one of five Mercury players in double-digit scoring on Tuesday. Cunningham tied Griner for a team-high 14 points, Taurasi and Cloud each had 13 and Herbert Harrigan had 10 including the key threes.
“I’ve just had so many great memories (at Crypto.com Arena, formerly Staples Center in Los Angeles), growing up,” Taurasi said.
Will Mercury fans only have one last one of her at Footprint Center on Thursday?
Fans and media alike will find out. Phoenix tips off against Seattle at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by Arizona’s Family Sports and streamed on Mercury Live.