Kelsey Plum scored 20 points off the bench and hit the go-ahead corner 3 with 53 seconds left as the Mercury beat the Sky 106-101 in Chicago.
Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said the organization had tried to acquire Kelsey Plum over the past several seasons.
The Mercury acquired Plum from the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade late Saturday, Aug. 1, sending Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick to Los Angeles. She flew to Chicago from Portland, Oregon, arriving late Sunday night, and was welcomed with an embrace from Kahleah Copper, Tibbetts, her teammates, and staff.
Phoenix beat the Chicago Sky on Aug. 3 in Plum's debut, her corner 3-pointer with 53 seconds left putting the Mercury ahead for good in a 106-101 win. Tibbetts was asked afterward about Copper's first day with her new teammate.
"Kah's just been like a kid in a candy store the last 24 hours," Tibbetts said. "She's so dang happy that KP is here. It's neat. This is the reason why we've tried to go get KP the last couple season."
Plum finished with 20 points, one rebound, and four assists, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 5-of-5 from the line. She came off the bench and played 21 minutes.
Copper led Phoenix with 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and added four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Twenty of her 31 came in the second half. Alyssa Thomas posted 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists for her 27th career triple-double, the most among active players. DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points with eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks.
After a timeout with 11 seconds left, Bonner blocked a Courtney Vandersloot layup and made two free throws at the other end. Copper ended it with a steal on the inbound.
Before the trade, Plum last played on June 21 with the Sparks, when she sustained a left lower leg injury. She was set to return Sunday against the Portland Fire, a day after the deal.
Phoenix improved to 12-19. The Mercury had lost to the New York Liberty 94-92 at home on Aug. 1, four days after Copper's 27 points carried them past the Golden State Valkyries in a 91-89 comeback on July 29.
Phoenix sits 5.5 games behind the Washington Mystics, who are eighth in the WNBA standings at 16-12. The Mercury have 13 games remaining.
Chicago fell to 11-19. The Sky had beaten the Connecticut Sun 94-88 on Aug. 2 behind Kamilla Cardoso's 26 points.
Two of Phoenix's next five games come against teams above .500. The Mercury visit the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 5, play at Connecticut on Aug. 7, and visit Washington on Aug. 9. Atlanta lost 109-87 to the Las Vegas Aces on Aug. 3.
Four internal links, all fetched and confirmed live off the WNBA hub. I dropped the line about Plum showing the roster can run in transition and move the ball — that's the interpretive sentence in the piece and it's what will flag first.
