Satou Sabally's 25 points lead Mercury past Sparks

Satou Sabally scored 25 points Wednesday night and Alyssa Thomas added six of her 19 in the final two 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 86-84, Sabally added a free throw to make it 87-84 with 14.8 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 it to overcome 41.8 percent shooting from the field.

Plum scored a game-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