Minnesota Lynx’s late lead vanishes suddenly in loss to Phoenix Mercury

On a day when two All-Stars went head to head, Alyssa Thomas delivered the veteran masterpiece.

Missing Kahleah Copper, Satou Sabally and Lexi Held because of various injuries, the Phoenix Mercury got everything they could out of Thomas and knocked off the league-leading Lynx 79-71 at PHX Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

Thomas scored a career-high 29 points and packed the boxscore with other contributions.

Lynx All-Star Courtney Williams scored 10 points in the first quarter, while the rest of the Lynx shot 4-for-13 in that period. But as Williams, who finished with 21 points, was pushing the pace for the Lynx (17-3), Thomas was doing the same for the Mercury (14-6), keeping the teams neck-and-neck in the second quarter.

The Lynx got All-Star captain Napheesa Collier involved in the third quarter (eight points) after a quiet first half (four points on three shots), helping them take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter.

After the Lynx withstood several runs from the Mercury, Thomas finally had her way. The Mercury closed the game with a 19-4 run in the final 5 minutes, 45 seconds. Thomas had 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting, with three rebounds, an assist and a steal in that stretch.

The Lynx had beaten the Mercury twice this season, but they had yet to face Thomas — the WNBA’s assist leader with a 9.8-per-game average and a top candidate, alongside Collier, for league MVP.

Thomas’ presence was the difference. She disrupted the Lynx’s rhythm on both ends, pushed the pace, created mismatches in the paint with her bully ball tactics and delivered in crunch time.

As for the Lynx, their offense went cold in the final five minutes.

“Our offense let us down,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We were getting through it, fighting through it. … Offensively, we just didn’t rise up to the physicality that Phoenix played with.”

With 38 seconds remaining, Thomas delivered a step-back dagger over Lynx shooting guard Kayla McBride, giving the Mercury a six-point lead and triggering a full Lynx timeout.

Thomas turned around and roared. When play resumed, Collier missed a three-pointer, Thomas grabbed the rebound and Sami Whitcomb earned a trip to the free-throw line. Whitcomb’s two free throws iced the game.

The Lynx built a six-point cushion at multiple points, but the Mercury refused to go away. Despite Reeve’s complaints to the officials — particularly after Thomas’ late-game physicality on offense — Thomas continued to use her strength in the lane and power the Mercury ahead in the final minutes.

Thomas and the Mercury outscored the Lynx 27-14 in the fourth quarter, an impressive response considering the Lynx held them to 12 points in the third quarter.

18 turnovers | The Lynx had averaged eight turnovers over their past three games, compared to their season average of 13. The turnover bug resurfaced Wednesday. Eight came in the fourth quarter, including three in the final three minutes.

BOXSCORE: Mercury 79, Lynx 71

WNBA standings

Alyssa Thomas | Thomas’ 29 points set a career high, and she added eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, becoming the first player in franchise history to post such numbers in under 35 minutes, according to StatMuse. She controlled the tempo, forced her way to the rim, made the right reads in transition and picked up Collier, a captain for the All-Star Game, on defense, setting the tone on both ends of the floor.

The Lynx will play back-to-back midday camp games. On Thursday, they take on the Los Angeles Sparks in a 2 p.m. start at Crypto.com Arena. The Sparks haven’t beaten the Lynx since 2024, falling three times already this season to Collier and Co.