In the opening game of the Mercury vs Liberty series, Alyssa Thomas was unfazed by a missed opportunity to close the game. She kept faith in herself and her teammate to clinch victory in the series. A few days later, Thomas created history at the same venue with a massive triple-double performance.
‘The engine’ once again delivered against the defending champions to advance to the playoff semifinals despite strong performances from Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart.
Alyssa Thomas Records Historic Triple-Double In Win Over The New York Liberty
In the must-win situation, both Liberty superstars were determined to clinch an improbable victory at PHX Arena. Sabrin Ionescu scored 22 points, while Stewart scored 30 points with nine rebounds. While both players nearly played the entire game, AT remained an unbeatable force for the Phoenix Mercury.
Impacting the game on both ends of the floor, the 33-year-old forward recorded a triple-double in the game with 20 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. This is the first-ever 20-point triple-double in WNBA Playoff history. Apart from Thomas, DeWanna Bonner also created history in the win against the New York Liberty with her eight rebounds.
Incidentally, there are only seven triple-doubles in playoff history, and the Mercury forward has five of those. HC Nate Tibbetts praised the player, saying that this is what she does, and she takes pride in winning the games for her team.
Alyssa Thomas continues to make history 👀
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 20, 2025
In the @PhoenixMercury's 79-73 win over the Liberty, Thomas became the first player in WNBA history to record a 20-point triple-double in Playoffs! She also recorded the fifth triple-double of her postseason career!
20 PTS | 11 REB |… pic.twitter.com/yBTFLn0h1z
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“AT is incredible. The way that she has really perfected her game is to be a nightmare all over the court. She has triple-doubles every single night, so there’s tons of respect between both sides,” Stewart said after the game.
The Mercury will face the league leaders, the Minnesota Lynx, in the semifinals starting on September 21.
Alyssa Thomas Reacts After Win Over New York Liberty
The Phoenix Mercury eliminated defending champions in the first round and will face other finalists in the semifinal round. While this could be a unique route to the finals, the record-setting forward is concentrating on one game at a time.
“We are not ready for this to be over. We got a special group. We want to keep playing. Tonight was just about taking this win,” Thomas said in the post-game interview.
Thomas was runner-up in 2023 and received MVP votes four of the last five seasons. She is once again a finalist for the title. During the regular season, she averaged 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and a career-high 9.2 assists over 39 games.