Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Alyssa Thomas missed two late free throws, and the Mercury let go of Game 1 of the Finals in Las Vegas

The game rested in Alyssa Thomas’ hands as she stepped to the line down one with 24.6 seconds left, but she gagged both attempts. The Mercury lost 89-86 moments after blanking a poorly designed sideline out-of-bounds play.

Somewhere, Nick Anderson let out a sigh of relief at being replaced as a late-game choker. The blunder was the equivalent of a boxer having an opponent wounded in the corner, and then getting knocked out before finishing the job. 

Now one is left to wonder how much psychological damage this will inflict on Phoenix. And considering Thomas’ below-average accuracy in the regular season and playoffs at the welfare line, the Aces may want her there again late in Game 2.

 Kahleah Copper’s sweet-shooting first half, and Thomas’ work in that time getting to the cylinder became a footnote of history. Instead, Aj’a Wilson’s late six points, Dana Evans’ three enormous triples, and Jackie Young’s go-ahead freebies will be remembered for saving the night in Game 1 of the WNBA’s first best-of-seven Finals.

Copper was asked at her postgame interview if she needed to do anything to console Thomas, but she responded, “Nah. She good.”

But I don’t know if she was. She looked scared senseless, like an apparition had appeared with a dire warning. The first miss was so bad, it inspired zero confidence in thinking she’d make the second. Thomas did not attend the post-game press conference.

Of course, the series is far from over, and Phoenix is capable of winning on tour, as they did in New York and Minnesota during this postseason, yet the road to the Finals has revealed that the Aces are scarier than many imagined, including this scribe. 

Never forget how the Aces were dropped by Minnesota to 14-14, getting mowed down at home by 53. They were dead, then they won every game left (30-14), claimed the second seed and took out Seattle and Indiana. 

The Aces only made a third of their 3-point tries, and Young plus Wilson shot way below their averages. Some of that will continue because Phoenix is the bigger and more athletic team, but they can’t close another game shooting 33% in hostile territory and expect to go home with a stalemate. The Aces’ best players are too seasoned as back-to-back champions to make it anything short of a struggle until the end.

Satou Sabally needs to stay locked in because her outbursts, like the one that gave her a technical foul late, will make her a target.  But most importantly, Thomas owes the Mercury a game, and so does Copper for doing nada offensively in 10 fourth-quarter minutes.