20 20 14 21 — 18 24 14 22 — 75 78

Phoenix 8-27 (Peddy 2-3, Diggins-Smith 2-4, Cunningham 2-7, Gray 1-2, Taurasi 1-10, DeShields 0-1), Los Angeles 5-14 (Brown 4-5, Samuelson 1-4, Smith 0-1, Walker 0-1, Canada 0-3);

None; Phoenix 30 (Cunningham, Peddy 6), Los Angeles 32 (N.Ogwumike 9); Phoenix 21 (Taurasi 6), Los Angeles 18 (Canada 5);

Phoenix 25, Los Angeles 16; 3,340 (18,997)

make the right play and I think that is the mark of a team that you want to play on.”

Williams knew his team was going to be shorthanded in the backcourt against the Mercury with guards Kristi Toliver, Brittney Sykes and Chennedy Carter on the injury report.

Williams used 6-foot-3 forward Samuelson as a big guard for spurts but ultimately he knew the game would come down to the heart of his players.

“You have to dig down, get it up and play,” Williams said before the game.

The Sparks starting backcourt of Canada and Brown responded to Williams, by playing a combined 71 out of a possible 80 minutes.

“When I was a kid, I watched the games in The Forum,” said Mercury first-year head coach Vanessa Nygaard, a former Spark, who was most recently the head girls basketball coach at Windward School in Los Angeles before taking over in Phoenix. “So I remember as a player my first couple of years in the league getting to play in The Forum and looking up and seeing the ceiling of The Forum I thought that was it but as a coach being able to coach in (Crypto. com Arena) is definitely a dream come true.

“It's really extra surreal for me coaching against Jordin Canada who I've known since she was 12 years old. Regardless of the results of the game, it really is a dream come true for me as a coach.”

Phoenix was led by Skylar Diggins-Smith who scored 22 points. Diana Taurasi had 13 points.