Alyssa Thomas puts up historic triple-double as Phoenix Mercury dethrone New York Liberty

By Jamie Barton, CNN

(CNN) — Alyssa Thomas made history on Friday night as the Phoenix Mercury defeated the reigning champion New York Liberty 79-73 to progress to the WNBA playoff semifinals.

The six-time All-Star put up the first 20-point triple-double in WNBA postseason history, adding 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a dominant performance.

It was the fifth playoff triple-double of Thomas’ career, and just the seventh by any player in the league’s history. She now has nine for the season, more than double the total any other player has managed across their entire WNBA career.

“Is that AT’s first triple-double of the year?” joked Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts after the game. “This is just what she does. She impacts the game in so many different ways. She cares about one thing, and that’s winning.

“When you’ve got a player of her caliber with that much pride to win a game and do whatever it takes, you’re going to have a great team.

Two days after her excellent display in Game 2, Satou Sabally added 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Kahleah Copper contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, while Sami Whitcomb had 13 points as Phoenix claimed its first playoff series win since 2021.

DeWanna Bonner’s eight rebounds saw her pass Candace Parker’s total playoff record with 614.

For New York, Breanna Stewart scored 30 points despite having sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her left knee in Sunday’s Game 1. The feat saw her tie Diana Taurasi for the most 30+ point games in playoff history, with eight.

Sabrina Ionescu put up 22 points, but no other Liberty player managed more than eight.

A back-and-forth game saw the lead change hands 13 times in the first three quarters, but the Mercury took a 60-59 lead into the fourth and – despite 14 points from Stewart in the last 10 minutes – stayed out in front.

“AT is incredible. The way that she has really perfected her game to be a nightmare all over the court,” a clearly disappointed Stewart said of Thomas’ performance. “She has triple-doubles every single night, so there’s tons of respect between both sides.”

Phoenix, the fourth seed, will face the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals after they beat the Golden State Valkyries in two games. The best-of-five series starts at Target Center on Sunday.

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