Alyssa Thomas might have taken a blow in the final minutes trying to help Mercury go past the line, but even in that, she slipped at a point. After the artistry Alyssa Thomas showed all game, missing the two free throws was quite the anticlimax. With 24.6 seconds to go, Thomas had the chance to win back the lead they had for most of the game. However, both of her free throws rimmed out, and Chelsea Gray grabbed the rebound. But was she fully responsible?

The Aces were running out the clock, forcing Kahleah Copper to foul. Trailing by three points, Mercury ran the play for Copper to take the shot, but the Aces switched out, and Satou Sabally had to release a hurried shot that did not fall. Yet, this entire sequence has been buried with Alyssa Thomas’ missed free throws, making all the headlines. For good reason, you expect Thomas to lead her team by making those clutch free throws. However, the loss was a culmination of all their errors during the entire game.

According to Sabreena Merchant of the Athletic, “There was just a lack of discipline by the Mercury in that fourth quarter. You see Satou Sabally get a technical foul after she picks up her fifth foul, just like slamming the ball up, and immediately you saw Alyssa Thomas come right up to her and be like, ‘What are you doing?’ right?” Merchant said on the ‘No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show.’

That Sabally technical was as unnecessary as it gets. She was defending A’ja Wilson around the rim and was called for her 4th foul. The next one was quick. She bounced the ball a little too hard in frustration, earning her 5th foul in the form of a technical. Sabally was not performing at her best in the final quarter, scoring just 3 points after a solid 7 in Q3. 

“It’s an emotional game. By the time that she got over to the sideline, like four of our players had already talked to her. I mean. I think if she could have it back, I know she would.” Nate Tibbets said on that Sabally technical. 5 fouls meant Sabally had to tiptoe on defense, giving A’ja Wilson and Co. more open looks. Merchant further explained how the effect was compounded by mistakes across the team.

“You see little defensive miscues like De Wanna Bonner sinking in too much on help and leaving open three-pointers. The missed free throws, right? Just a lot of little details that you think the Mercury had been better at over the course of these playoffs that just came home to roost.” She said. 

DeWanna Bonner was considered the 6th-best player of the Finals by ESPN. “The Mercury and Bonner might have saved each other.” Wrote Charlie Creme. Her role coming off the bench was central to the Mercury’s regular-season success that got them a 27-17 record. In the postseason and especially this game, Bonner was largely weighing them down from the bench. 

Bonner finished the game with 10 points and 8 rebounds, but shot 4-13 from the field and 2-7 from the outside and a -12 net rating (game worst). Her outside shooting could have been the way to break Vegas’ zone defense, but she wasn’t effective enough there. The lazy defense was just icing on the cake for Bonner’s dismal performance.

Yes, it does feel like her performance is getting too much criticism, but that is because of the extent to which Mercury depends on her. In any case, the Mercury and Alyssa Thomas are taking the right learnings from Game 1 to bounce back. 

Alyssa Thomas explains that their mistakes are ‘fixable’

Considering their 2025 playoff run and Game 1 debacle in each round, we should expect a strong response from the Phoenix Mercury. They lost to Liberty in Game 1 of Round 1 and then pulled back-to-back wins. In the semifinal, too, the same script followed against the Lynx. But this time, they made some mistakes in Game 1 that they simply don’t normally commit. Whether it was the Finals stage nerves or the pressures of playing on the road, Alyssa Thomas believes they’ll iron things out in Game 2.

“We’ve done a great job of flying around and covering up for each other. We didn’t do a good job of doing the little things, especially you contesting the threes. I think they got a lot of open threes on us, but again, something that’s fixable. We watched the video on it,” Thomas said.

In Game 1, Mercury led for more than two-thirds of the game. They were the better team for the majority of the time, but the big moments cost them a win. Phoenix coughed up 12 turnovers to the Aces’ 5, and Las Vegas made them pay dearly, turning those mistakes into 20 points.

The Mercury was tactically outmatched in the final quarter, something they will be better prepared for. Mercury can’t match the experience gap within one practice, but they can analyze and try to close out games before they arrive in clutch situations. Alyssa Thomas will be central to their success. Can the Mercury star pack a punch over the Aces and A’ja Wilson?