Alyssa Thomas created NBA history in Mercury's win over Fever
Thomas became the first player in WNBA history to achieve three consecutive triple-doubles
Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 95-60 on Thursday night
As the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 95-60 on Thursday night, it was Alyssa Thomas who snatched the headlines.
Recording 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Thomas became the first player in WNBA history to achieve three consecutive triple-doubles.
Capping her side’s third straight win, Thomas earned her 19th career triple-double, with no other player in league history achieving more than four.
She did so with 3:47 remaining after assisting DeWanna Bonner on a three-pointer. Over her last three games, Thomas has accumulated 41 points, 33 rebounds, and 32 assists.
"Its's just a huge honour," Thomas said. "A lot of credit to my team-mates. They helped me get this one tonight. But to be first ever, not a lot of people can say that about anything."
Bonner led the Mercury with a season-high 23 points, while Satou Sabally contributed 15 points and eight rebounds and Kahleah Copper added 11 points.
This 35-point victory was the Mercury's third-largest margin of victory in franchise history. Phoenix improved to 19-11, equalling their total number of wins from last season.
"We're just leaning into each other," Thomas noted about the team’s recent strong performances. "We've had a lot of adversity this season, injuries and things of that nature. I think we're just starting to hit our second wind."
In candid locker room footage released on the Mercury’s social media channels, Thomas continued to sound her appreciation of her team-mates: “Real talk, I couldn’t have got that without you all. I appreciate you allowing me to do that. That wouldn’t happen without you guys, so thank you.”
The Indiana Fever were left disappointed following their second consecutive defeat, having won each of their previous five games.
Small forward Sophie Cunningham shed light on the Fever’s injury woes after the game, saying: "We faced some adversity with injuries this game, but we are used to that, we had that at the beginning of the year.
"This is just another hump that we are going to get over, and we're going to be okay.”
