Paige Bueckers' 35 points not enough as Wings fall to Mercury
Satou Sabally had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Alyssa Thomas also had a double-double in her return, and the host Phoenix Mercury weathered a career game from Paige Bueckers to beat the Dallas Wings 93-80 Wednesday.
Rookie Bueckers set season highs with 35 points and five 3-pointers after missing the previous four games, three while in the concussion protocol and another because of illness. She added six rebounds and four assists.
The No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, Bueckers had 22 points in the first half her previous career high was 21 and was 13 of 19 from the field and five of seven from three-point range. She had 22 of the Wings' first 36 points.
Thomas had 11 points and 10 assists in 24 minutes after missing the previous five games with a left calf injury.
Katija Laksa had 14 points and four 3-pointers and Kathryn Westbeld and Lexi Held had 11 points apiece for the Mercury, who have won two of three.
Sabally also had four 3-pointers and Monique Akoa Makani had three as the Mercury went 15 of 35 from distance.
The Mercury led 67-55 on Sabally's 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in the third quarter and gradually pulled away. The Wings were never closer than nine points in the final eight minutes.
Sabally played her first five seasons in Dallas before being traded to the Mercury in the offseason, and the teams had words and remained on the floor for several minutes after the game ended.
The Wings averaged 85.3 points a game when Bueckers played in the first six and 76.0 points when she was out.
Wings leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale missed her first seven field goal attempts and finished with 10 points on 2 of 10 shooting. She was averaging 16.3 points per game and had 26 points in an 81-65 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
Luisa Geiselsoder had 10 points for the Wings.
The Mercury are 3-2 in Commissioner's Cup play and the Wings are 0-4.
Mercury forward Natasha Mack two points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 13 minutes in her first game of the season. She missed the first 10 games with a back injury.
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