In what might have been Diana Taurasi’s last game in her hometown of Los Angeles, her Mercury won a chippy game Tuesday night that saw Phoenix veteran Brittney Griner and Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson get ejected.
Emotions ran high in a matchup that didn’t mean anything standings-wise. With their 85-81 win, the Mercury improved to 19-20, but they already had the No. 7 playoff seed locked up.
The Sparks, now 7-32, were eliminated from playoff contention last week.
Still, the longtime Phoenix-Los Angeles rivalry always seems to be hot even when the stakes aren’t high. Taurasi, 42, has played through 20 seasons of it with the Mercury.
After recording 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds against the Sparks, she was asked if she was sure this season “was it” for her.
“I don’t know,” said Taurasi, who attended Don Lugo High School in Chino, California, and has played in WNBA games and gone to NBA games at Crypto.com Arena, formerly Staples Center, for many years. “The last couple of weeks have been a little nerve-racking for myself. I don’t want to make any emotional, rash decisions. I know the end is near. When that is, I don’t know.
“I’ve always been a person that just concentrates on what’s next. And that’s practice tomorrow and then [vs.] Seattle on Thursday. I guess when the season’s over, I’ll reflect and I’ll get advice from the people that are closest to my heart.”
The Mercury have been marketing Thursday’s regular-season finale against the Storm with the slogan, “If this is it …” — in case it is indeed the last chance to see Taurasi in the downtown Phoenix arena where she has starred for two decades.
Taurasi isn’t ready to say that herself, and appreciates that the Mercury have not asked her to commit either way.
“Especially when you’ve been somewhere for 20 years … I’m grateful that [we’re] able to have these conversations and let me really do it the way I want to do it,” she said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people, and someone once told me, ‘You don’t get to pick your ending sometimes.’ So when it ends, it ends. It’s been a fun ride.”
Considering neither Phoenix nor Seattle, which is locked into the No. 5 seed, will have anything on the line Thursday, it’s not certain how much any of the Phoenix starters will play. The Mercury then will meet No. 2 seed Minnesota in the playoffs starting Sunday.
The Lynx host the first two games of the best-of-three series, so Phoenix will have to win at least once in Minneapolis to ensure a playoff game at home.
As for Griner — who teamed with Taurasi to win the 2014 WNBA championship and Olympic gold medals for Team USA in 2016, 2021 and 2024 — her night ended early Tuesday.
With 18.1 seconds left in the second quarter and the Mercury at the foul line, Griner and Jackson had an altercation while getting rebounding position. They exchanged words and engaged in a brief scuffle before being separated and then ejected.
The Mercury’s Sophie Cunningham and the Sparks’ Crystal Dangerfield were also issued technical fouls after the incident.
Both Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts and Los Angeles coach Curt Miller said they weren’t entirely sure what occurred between Griner and Jackson and would need to look at film. It’s expected the WNBA also will review the film.
“Everything happened so fast,” Miller said. “My initial words to Rickea were, ‘Hang in there.’ I haven’t had much interaction yet with her. We’ll look to see exactly what happened.”
