Mercury surrender lead to Fire late, spoiling Taurasi’s Ring of Honor night

DeWanna Bonner, who played nine seasons with Taurasi, scored 23 points to lead the Mercury.

Aug 16, 2026, 7:10 PM

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PHOENIX (AP) — Carla Leite scored 23 points and the Portland Fire rallied to beat Phoenix 88-85 on Sunday night, when the Mercury had halftime and postgame ceremonies celebrating franchise icon Diana Taurasi.

Leite had the final two baskets in a 6-0 run and the expansion Fire (15-20) moved in front 81-80 with 1:12 remaining. Portland’s Emily Engstler and the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper traded baskets before Katie Lou Samuelson hit the second of two foul shots with 20 seconds left to put the Fire up 84-82.

Bridget Carleton blocked a shot by Copper and grabbed the rebound with 12 seconds to go, then sank two free throws for a four-point lead after Copper fouled her. Alyssa Thomas buried a 3-pointer, but Carleton sank two free throws to preserve the win.

Leite shot 9 for 15 and added five assists. Megan DiLeo had 15 points.

DeWanna Bonner, who played nine seasons with Taurasi, scored 23 to lead Phoenix (13-23). Copper totaled 19 points and seven rebounds. Thomas finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, falling one assist shy of a triple-double.

Bonner and Thomas both scored six points to guide Phoenix to a 22-18 lead after one quarter. Bonner had 14 points by halftime and the Mercury took a 42-36 lead into intermission.

Frieda Buhner and DiLeo sank 3-pointers late in the third quarter to get Portland within 64-61 heading to the fourth.

After they returned home for Sunday’s game following a four-game road trip, the Mercury hit the road again to face the Atlanta Dream on Saturday.