Mercury vs. Fire: Shay Ciezki Scores 22 Off the Bench as Phoenix Edges Portland 94-91

Nearly three weeks off for the FIBA World Cup, and the Phoenix Mercury came back playing like a team that had memorized the exact location of the free-throw line. Down seven at halftime in front of a Moda Center crowd of 13,641 that sensed a home win, Phoenix kept attacking, kept drawing whistles and kept cashing in at the line until the Fire simply ran out of runway.

The final was 94-91, Mercury, on Thursday night, and the hero came off the bench. Shay Ciezki poured in 22 points in 21 minutes, going a perfect 9-for-9 at the stripe, and Phoenix made 26 of its 30 free throws to steal a game the Fire had led for nearly two-thirds of the night. Emily Engstler gave the expansion Fire everything she had with 21 points and five 3-pointers, Holly Winterburn added 18, and it still was not enough.

Portland Lands the First Haymaker

Phoenix actually had the early edge. The Mercury were up 20-14 with under three minutes to go in the opening quarter when the Fire flipped the script with 15 consecutive points, a run that bled into the second quarter and ended with Portland on top 29-20 at the 9:28 mark. The Fire took a 26-20 lead out of the first, stretched it as far as 11 and settled for a 50-43 cushion at the break.

The Mercury chipped away in the third. Trailing 65-57 with 2:37 left in the period, they rattled off eight straight points to tie it at 65, and by the horn Portland's lead was down to a single point, 69-68. Across the night the lead changed hands nine times, and the fourth quarter played out like a coin that kept landing on its edge.

Phoenix edged ahead in the fourth, and Alyssa Thomas sank two free throws with 4:58 to go for an 82-79 lead. From that point on, the Mercury never trailed. Sami Whitcomb followed with an 11-foot pull-up off a Thomas feed, then a 23-foot triple from the same playmaker to make it 87-82. Engstler answered from deep, Lexi Held calmly made all three free throws after a foul with 2:14 left, and Karlie Samuelson's two freebies with 50.8 seconds remaining cut it to 90-88.

That set up the wildest sequence of the night. The Fire got the ball back on a Phoenix shot-clock violation, but Samuelson missed a 3-point try with 21.4 seconds left, and Natasha Mack hit both free throws for a 92-88 lead. Winterburn buried a 25-footer with under five seconds left to make it 92-91, and Noemie Brochant iced it with two more free throws at 3.4 seconds.

Ciezki Steals the Show, Thomas Runs It

Ciezki was the difference in a reserve role. She hit 5 of 8 shots, 3 of 5 from deep and all nine of her free throws, adding three assists and two steals, and she outscored every starter on either roster. The only thing that slowed her down was the whistle: she finished with six fouls, which turned her night into a sprint rather than a marathon. Held also finished with six fouls after scoring 12 in 17 minutes, which made the Mercury's late-game margin for error even thinner.

Thomas was the conductor. She went 6-of-8 from the field for 18 points with eight rebounds and six assists, and two of those dimes set up Whitcomb's back-to-back fourth-quarter buckets. It was not a flawless masterpiece, since she turned it over five times and went 6-for-10 at the line, but the offense lived in her hands when it mattered. Brochant posted the best plus-minus on the floor at plus-17 with 14 points and six assists, Whitcomb hit three triples for 11, and Mack went 5-for-5 at the stripe with three steals and two blocks.

For Portland, Engstler was terrific: 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep with seven rebounds and five assists, and she, too, finished with six fouls. Winterburn's 18 came with an 8-for-8 night at the line, and Jordan Harrison dished out 10 assists, though her six turnovers stung. Samuelson scored 14 and Amy Okonkwo had four steals off the bench.

The Turning Point: A Game Won at the Stripe

On paper, the giveaways were a wash. Each team committed 17 turnovers. What came next should have buried Phoenix: the Fire turned the Mercury's miscues into 29 points, while Phoenix got just 14 out of Portland's. Add a 34-28 Portland edge in the paint and five more Fire shots, and this reads like a home win.

The free-throw line said otherwise. Phoenix made 26 of 30, while Portland made 21 of 28. Both teams hit a dozen 3s and the Fire made one more field goal, so that five-point edge at the stripe is the whole ballgame. Seven points left at the line in a game decided by three is the kind of number that replays in a coach's head all the way home.

Stats That Matter

• 29-14: Portland's edge in points off turnovers, and the Fire still lost.
• 26 of 30: Mercury free throws, with Ciezki's 9-for-9 leading the way.
• 12 apiece: Both teams made a dozen 3-pointers, but Phoenix needed 25 attempts to Portland's 30.
• 15-0: Portland's run spanning the first two quarters, which built a lead that never felt safe.
• Nine: Lead changes in a game that was never decided until the final four seconds.

What It Means

Neither team is playing for a seed. The AP noted that both have already been eliminated from playoff contention, so this was about pride and player development. Phoenix moved to 15-26 and has now won two straight, pairing this escape with the 101-69 rout of Toronto it posted right before the break. The win also clinched the season series for the Mercury, 2-1, in the final meeting between the clubs.

Portland fell to 16-25, including 8-13 at home, and has lost five of its last six. Both sides were short-handed thanks to the World Cup. The Fire played without Carla Leite, who won silver with France, and Megan DiLeo, whose Spain team finished third. On the Phoenix side, U.S. gold medalist Kahleah Cooper sat out, as did Valeriane Ayayi and Kyara Linskens. Next up, the Mercury visit Dallas on Saturday, while Portland heads to Golden State on Friday.

Closing Take

This one had the energy of a band's first show after a long hiatus: a little rusty, way too many fouls, and an encore nobody in the building wanted to miss. Three players, Ciezki, Held and Engstler, finished with six fouls apiece, and the game still came down to a 25-footer and two free throws in the final five seconds. Phoenix's season is not ending with a playoff run, but Ciezki just made a loud case that she belongs in the spotlight.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details as reported by the Associated Press.