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 in terms of the standings. 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 attended NBA contests 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 [versus] 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 visiting 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 she appreciates that the Mercury have not asked
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