Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas bags record 3rd triple-double in row


PHOENIX — Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to become the first WNBA player with three straight triple-doubles, and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Indiana Fever 95-60 on Thursday night for their third consecutive victory.

Thomas secured her 19th career triple-double — no other WNBA player has had more than four — with 3:47 left on a pass to the corner for DeWanna Bonner‘s 3-pointer. Thomas has 41 points, 33 rebounds and 32 assists in her past three games.

“Just a huge honor,” Thomas said. “A lot of credit to my teammates. They helped me get this one tonight. But to be first ever, not a lot of people can say that about anything.”

Bonner finished with a season-high 23 points. Satou Sabally had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Kahleah Copper scored 11 for Phoenix.

The 35-point win was the Mercury’s third-largest margin of victory in franchise history. At 19-11, they matched their win total from last season (19-21).

“Just leaning into each other,” Thomas said when asked about the team’s current run of strong play. “We’ve had a lot of adversity this season, injuries and things of that nature. I think we’re just starting to hit our second wind.”

Sophie Cunningham scored 18 points and shot 5 of 8 on 3-pointers for Indiana (17-14). Kelsey Mitchell added 12 points.

Caitlin Clark (right groin) sat out her ninth straight game for Indiana.

Phoenix had its lead trimmed to 53-44 early in the third quarter after Cunningham made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions. But the Mercury answered with a 14-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Sami Whitcomb, for a 23-point lead with 2:39 left in the third.

Indiana went four-plus minutes without scoring in the third and finished the quarter with only 11 points.

The season series is tied 1-all, with the final regular-season meeting on Sept. 2 in Phoenix.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.



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