Brittney Griner was disqualified just before halftime, and while they were without one of their stars for the rest of the game,
the Phoenix Mercury exploded in the third quarter, winning 85-81 over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday.
Natasha Cloud had 13 points and 12 assists for her second double-double in a row, and Sophie Cunningham had 14 in Phoenix's win (19-20).
Diana Taurasi finished with 13 points, while Kiki Herbert Harrigan added 10 off the bench.
Dearica Hamby demonstrated why she is one of the WNBA's most underrated players by scoring 21 points and grabbing nine boards in the Sparks' (7-32) eighth consecutive loss.
Phoenix dominated Los Angeles in the regular season series, 4-0. The offense was noticeably quiet in the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena (previously Staples Center), one of basketball's most legendary venues.
The Sparks were 5-for-23 (21.7%) from the field and 2-for-10 (20%) from three, while the Mercury were only slightly better, going 0-for-7 behind the arch and 5-for-16 (31.3%) overall in the quarter.
The Mercury's shots continued to miss, but the Sparks broke out of their rut with an 8-2 run in the second quarter.