{"id":277894,"date":"2025-10-04T19:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T19:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/277894\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T19:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T19:57:10","slug":"phoenix-mercury-in-familiar-spot-after-wnba-finals-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/277894\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix Mercury in familiar spot after WNBA Finals loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Mercury have lost three games during their WNBA playoffs run, each coming in Game 1 of each respective series.<\/p>\n

Now playing in the first-ever best-of-7 finals series, Phoenix has its biggest margin for error after its latest Game 1 loss, 89-86 to the Las Vegas Aces<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that it doesn\u2019t matter, but like, it\u2019s okay,\u201d Mercury guard Kahleah Copper said postgame<\/a> of what she took away from coming back in the earlier series. \u201cThis is a long series. \u2026 The mindset (after the losses) was back to the drawing board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the utmost confidence in our locker room and in our coaches to make the adjustments, so now it\u2019s the same thing. It\u2019s still just a little frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way the Mercury lost likely adds to the frustration, as forward Alyssa Thomas missed two free throws when trailing by one with 24.6 seconds left.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas collected the rebound and Jackie Young made her two free throws to extend the lead to three, and Satou Sabally missed a game-tying 3 in the final seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in a ton of close games, we have played well in the fourth,\u201d Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said postgame. \u201cI thought we did some good things in this fourth quarter also. They made a couple plays down the stretch, we didn\u2019t. That\u2019s why this is gonna be a great series.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna come down to the last possessions of the game. They\u2019ve been through it together. We\u2019ve handled these situations very well, I thought we had some good looks. They just didn\u2019t go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phoenix Mercury\u2019s resilience has gotten them to this point<\/p>\n

Phoenix\u2019s run to the WNBA Finals has been about responding in the face of adversity, whether it was bouncing back from the playoff-opening loss with a 26-point victory in Game 2 against the New York Liberty or turning a 20-point deficit in Game 2 against the Minnesota Lynx into an overtime win.<\/p>\n

Tibbetts highlighted the importance of getting a win early, especially with starting the series on the road in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first to four (wins),\u201d Tibbetts said. \u201cAnd we put ourselves in a position, right? These are two of the best teams. It\u2019s why we\u2019re the last two standing. \u2026 We\u2019ve made some of these plays down the stretch \u2014 we didn\u2019t make them tonight \u2014 but we\u2019ll be ready on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copper said before the championship series began that Phoenix\u2019s fight stood out to her as far back as the regular season when it managed to win games without star players in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had players who had never played in the W before, go out there and compete at the highest level and they went on a winning streak,\u201d Copper said on Thursday. \u201cThey\u2019re talking about us (now), but don\u2019t forget about those players who held it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copper missed the first 11 games of the season, and Sabally and Thomas each missed five others. The time they missed jelling in their first season as teammates is juxtaposed with the Aces\u2019 long-term chemistry that\u2019s been established through multiple championship runs.<\/p>\n

Game 2 is on Sunday at noon MST, and it can be seen on ABC.<\/p>\n

\t
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