Mercury's Thomas breaks own triple-double record

LOS ANGELES -- Alyssa Thomas had 12 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists for her WNBA single-season record seventh triple-double, and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Los Angeles Sparks 92-84 on Tuesday night.

Thomas secured her 18th career triple-double with 2:50 left on a shot in the lane. She broke her own record of six triple-doubles in a season, set in 2023.

"I think this has been my game my entire career," Thomas said. "A lot of credit to my teammates, knocking down their open shots. I'm able to be comfortable and play my game, make the reads that I see, and it was no different tonight."

Thomas, who had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists in a win Friday, also became the first player in WNBA history to post at least 10 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a game. She is the first player in WNBA or NBA history with at least 12 rebounds and 15 assists in consecutive games.

And she did it while battling an illness.

"Happy I made it through. Still not feeling the best, but a win always helps," she said.

Thomas had just one point at halftime after attempting two field goals, to go with 10 assists and seven rebounds. She still managed to secure her sixth triple-double in August. No other player in WNBA history has more than one triple-double in a calendar month, and no other player in WNBA history has more than four career triple-doubles.

"She's just too tough to guard. I mean, she can score. You really want to take away her vision because she can pass. And then, it's a matchup problem every night," teammate Kahleah Copper said. "She's doing this every night."

Phoenix (23-14) moved past New York (23-15) for sole possession of fourth place in the WNBA standings.

Satou Sabally had a team-high 19 points, and Copper added 18 for Phoenix. Sami Whitcomb made five of her first six 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. DeWanna Bonner added 14 points.

The Mercury went 11-of-25 from 3-point range, with nine makes coming from players off the bench.

Dearica Hamby had 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals for Los Angeles (17-19). Rickea Jackson had 21 points and four 3-pointers, and Kelsey Plum scored 20. Plum reached 700 points on the season, the third time she has done that in her career.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.