Lexi Held's 24 points carry Mercury past Valkyries

Lexi Held scored a career-high 24 points, Satou Sabally had 19 points and seven rebounds, and the host Phoenix Mercury rallied to beat the Golden State Valkyries 86-77 on Thursday.

The Mercury finished on an 18-1 run and improved to 6-3, their best start since 2018 when they lost to eventual WNBA champion Seattle in the Western Conference semifinals. They are 2-1 in Commissioner's Cup games.

Held had nine points in the fourth quarter and Sebally had seven while playing through foul trouble. The Mercury overcame an eight-point deficit in the final four minutes in a game that featured 11 lead changes and 10 ties.

Veronica Burton had 16 points and Temi Fagbenle had 12 points for the expansion Valkyries, who lost their fourth straight and fell to 0-2 in the Commissioner's Cup. Kayla Thornton, Cecilia Zandalasini and Julie Vanloo had 10 points apiece.

Burton gave the Valkyries a 76-68 lead with 4:04 remaining, but their only other point came when she made a free throw to tie the game at 77-77 with 56.1 seconds remaining.

Sabally followed her own miss with a basket and converted a free throw to break the tie for an 80-77 lead with 33.3 seconds left.

After Burton missed a layup on the ensuing possession. the Valkyries were forced to foul. Sabally, Held and Monique Akoa Makani made two free throws apiece in the final 17 seconds.

Held made four 3-pointers and the Mercury were 11 of 25 from distance after going 5-for-30 in a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday.

The Mercury are 5-1 at home, tied for the best home start in franchise history, done seven times, most recently in 2015.

The Mercury made 5 of 8 3-pointers in the first quarter, four in the final 3 1/2 minutes, during a 13-3 run for a 21-16 lead after the first quarter. Held made two treys in the first quarter and another on the first possession of the second quarter.

Fagbenle had eight points in the second quarter when the Valkyrie pushed the ball and scored eight points off Mercury turnovers for a 38-37 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media