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\n Alyssa Thomas<\/a> made history on Friday night as the Phoenix Mercury<\/a> defeated the reigning champion New York Liberty<\/a> 79-73 to progress to the WNBA playoff semifinals.\n <\/p>\n \n The six-time All-Star put up the first 20-point triple-double in WNBA postseason history, adding 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a dominant performance.\n <\/p>\n \n It was the fifth playoff triple-double of Thomas\u2019 career, and just the seventh by any player in the league\u2019s history. She now has nine for the season, more than double the total any other player has managed across their entire WNBA career.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIs that AT\u2019s first triple-double of the year?\u201d joked Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts after the game. \u201cThis is just what she does. She impacts the game in so many different ways. She cares about one thing, and that\u2019s winning.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve got a player of her caliber with that much pride to win a game and do whatever it takes, you\u2019re going to have a great team.\n <\/p>\n \n Two days after her excellent display in Game 2, Satou Sabally added 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Kahleah Copper contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, while Sami Whitcomb had 13 points as Phoenix claimed its first playoff series win since 2021.\n <\/p>\n \n DeWanna Bonner\u2019s eight rebounds saw her pass Candace Parker\u2019s total playoff record with 614.\n <\/p>\n \n For New York, Breanna Stewart scored 30 points despite having sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her left knee in Sunday\u2019s Game 1. The feat saw her tie Diana Taurasi for the most 30+ point games in playoff history, with eight.\n <\/p>\n \n Sabrina Ionescu put up 22 points, but no other Liberty player managed more than eight.\n <\/p>\n \n A back-and-forth game saw the lead change hands 13 times in the first three quarters, but the Mercury took a 60-59 lead into the fourth and \u2013 despite 14 points from Stewart in the last 10 minutes \u2013 stayed out in front.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAT is incredible. The way that she has really perfected her game to be a nightmare all over the court,\u201d a clearly disappointed Stewart said of Thomas\u2019 performance. \u201cShe has triple-doubles every single night, so there\u2019s tons of respect between both sides.\u201d\n <\/p>\n![\"Alyssa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gettyimages-2235815170.jpg\")
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