Fever vs Mercury: Phoenix win 85–79 on Sep 3

The Phoenix Mercury continued to pick up steam down the stretch with a convincing 85–79 win over the Indiana Fever on September 3, 2025. The game took place in phoenix and was attended by a lively crowd of over 13,000. Phoenix were led by Alyssa Thomas, who finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists—just one shy of a triple-double. Veteran forward DeWanna Bonner chipped in 19 points off the bench to add some needed punch to the Phoenix offense. For Indiana, guard Kelsey Mitchell was the only bright spot for her team with 29 points on a very difficult evening for the visitors.

Season-Series And Rivalry Update

This contest represents the last regular-season meeting between the No. 2 seeded Mercury and No. 8 seeded Fever in 2025. Since the Mercury won this contest, they clinched the series 2-1. In each of the three match-ups during the season, the home team won. Indiana had beaten Phoenix earlier in July on their home floor, however, Phoenix was able to rebound convincingly on their floor. The rivalry has picked up excitement in the Caitlin Clark era, and there was buzz from fans on every clash among the teams. Although Clark was quiet in this game, the contest gained national attention with the narratives emerging around each team.

Important Moments Of The Game

Much of the game was very competitive with Indiana getting out to a strong start and controlling the boards collecting 40 rebounds to Phoenix's 36. However, Phoenix shot better going 45.5% from the field to Indiana's 42.7%. The difference in the games came down to the final minutes, where the ability of Alyssa Thomas to facilitate and DeWanna Bonner to score propelled Phoenix to a successful outing. The Mercury also took much better care of the ball, recording only 10 turnovers compared to Indiana's 12. Although not much, these small details machine the difference mark in a game that felt very much like a playoff contest.

Why This Win Is Important For Phoenix

The Mercury are peaking at the exact moment it needs to. This was their fifth consecutive win so the team is certainly creating momentum going into the final portion of the WNBA season. Alyssa Thomas is quickly becoming the engine of this team and her near triple-double explained why Phoenix can be a dangerous postseason opponent. Bonner's scoring off the bench illustrated that Phoenix not only can score in multiple positions but has experience and depth.   From Indiana's perspective, this loss snipped them and proved they must show consistency to keep moving higher up in the standings.

This team is so unpredictable I had to make a chart just to keep track of their level of effort and performance. Since we never know which Fever squad will show up, tonight it was Fever C-minus 😬—all grit and effort, but sloppy mistakes + bad coaching made us beatable by an… pic.twitter.com/DzGxEbHdT4

— Evelyn DR (@prettygirle2004) September 3, 2025

The Human Aspects Of The Game

The energy in Phoenix's arena was remarkable. More than 13,000 fans cheered at the top of their lungs as the Mercury secured their win; and in return, Phoenix fed off of it. For Kelsey Mitchell, 29-points later stands out as an unparalleled performance of leadership - given that it was in a loss. Kelsey kept the Fever afloat offensively, even keeping them in the game until the very end. On the opposite side Alyssa Thomas was facing adversity throughout the game and showed how determined she is given her exhaustive effort. This proved again, to the understanding and respect she commands around the league. Each of these individual stories added to the significance of the game— much more than just numbers, they illustrated the human side of the game that fans relate to and empathize with.