Indiana Fever at Phoenix Mercury Game Preview

The Mercury will be looking to get revenge after a disappointing loss to the Fever a little over a week ago. Can they correct the mistakes they made last time out?

Indiana Fever forward Chloe Bibby (55) rushes up the court Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 107-101. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Thursday night, the Phoenix Mercury will be taking on the Indiana Fever, hoping to get revenge after losing to Indiana on July 30th. In that game, the Mercury lost despite scoring 101 points -- they gave up a whopping 107 -- and were plagued by frequent defensive errors. Phoenix will be hoping their last two games, a decisive wins over the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun, are a sign that they're playing like themselves again and ready to flip the script in their rematch with the Fever.

The Fever have had to endure a long stretch without All-Star point guard Caitlin Clark, but have shot up the standings regardless. They're 17-13, fifth in the WNBA, and had won five straight games without Clark before losing 100-91 to the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.

It can be hard for teams to adjust when such a ball-dominant star goes down injured, but the Fever have done a remarkable job at not only remaining competitive, but improving their playoff seeding. As the Mercury found out last time around, beating them is no easy task.

Before last game, I took at look at the how the Fever look on offense and defense, so this time I'll focus on what Phoenix can do better after losing to Indiana last time around.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) attempts to block Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 107-101. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Offensive Keys

This may feel like an odd thing to say about a game in which Phoenix scored 101 points, but the offense was sloppy when they faced off in Indianapolis. Despite shooting an excellent 49.3% from the field and going 22-of-26 from the free throw line, the Mercs left plenty of points on the board in this one. Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper combined for 54 points on 20-for-32 shooting, the kind of performance that should virtually guarantee a win, but even they weren't immune to mistakes, as Thomas had a highly uncharacteristic eight turnovers while Copper had three.

In all, Phoenix barely managed more assists (18) than turnovers (17) and there were numerous plays where passes sailed out of bounds or into an opponent's hands because of miscommunication. The Mercs have had a few extra games under their belts with their full lineup since then and they'll be hoping to get closer to their nine-turnover performance against the Chicago Sky than their 17-turnover night against the Connecticut Sun.

They'll also need to get Satou Sabally going. Her ability to score inside and outside at her size can take the Mercury offense to another level, but she struggled after her return from injury. She had her best game in quite some time against the Sun, dropping 23 points on just 12 shot attempts, so the Mercury will be hoping that she's back to being healthy and confident yet again.

Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack (4) recovers the ball against Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 107-101. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Defensive Keys

The Mercury simply cannot afford to commit as many fouls as they did last time they played Indiana. Phoenix's defense was its usual self in terms of forcing turnovers (the Fever has 16) but late rotations caused them to send Indiana players over and over. They gave up 38 free throw attempts, nearly one per minute of game time, and the Fever made them pay, cashing in on 32 of them. They also shot 45.8% from three, due to those same late rotations that sent Phoenix defenders scrambling.

They'll have to be much better defensively at the point of attack, Aari McDonald got wherever she wanted in that game, and Aliyah Boston got plenty of free rolls into the paint as a result. Monique Akoa Makani appears to be over the stomach issue she dealt with in that game, and she'll be key to stopping dribble penetration and keeping Phoenix defenders out of rotation.

One encouraging sign from their last matchup is that Phoenix actually did a great job of keeping Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana's leading scorer, at 20 points per game, from going off. They limited her to eight points and Kahleah Copper was particularly effective in keeping her to getting to her spots.

A win here would give the Mercury a chance to put some distance between themselves and the fifth-place Fever and help set them up for home series in the first round of the playoffs. If they can correct their mistakes from last time, Phoenix could extend their winning streak to three games.

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