Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts ejected in Game 4 of finals:  ’One of the weakest double technicals ever’

PHOENIX — Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts received an ejection from Friday’s Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces for what he called “one of the weakest double technicals ever.”

A foul was called against Mercury wing Monique Akoa Makani with 2:41 left in the third quarter of an elimination game with the Aces up 3-0 in the series. Tibbetts was hit with a double tech after getting into an official’s face, a penalty he seemingly didn’t realize he received the moment it happened.

Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has been EJECTED from the game 😱#WNBAFinals pic.twitter.com/r1SBD15p2U

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 11, 2025

“We’re playing for our playoff lives,” Tibbetts said. “There’s been issues with the officiating all year. To me, I don’t know, I’ll have to look at it. I feel like I didn’t deserve that. I thought it was bull****.”

Kristi Toliver took over as the acting head coach of the Mercury for the final quarter at Mortgage Matchup Center.

Dana Evans hit both free throws to give Las Vegas a 70-54 lead, and the Aces won the game 97-86 to earn their third championship in four seasons.

Tibbetts had to watch on TV as his team fought back in the fourth quarter. The Mercury cut the deficit to six points in the fourth quarter, another valiant comeback that fell short.

There was plenty of complaining to officiating during the game on the court, and Phoenix was hit with 25 fouls to Las Vegas’ 16.

Kahleah Copper, who fouled out and was hit with a technical foul, did not want to use the calls as an excuse for the loss.

“ It’s cool. It is done,” Copper said. “We ain’t even gonna talk about that. …  One thing about us, we gonna hold ourselves accountable. So, I didn’t speak to the officiating.”

Alyssa Thomas added in regards to officiating: “I think that’s the main message everyone’s been saying all year long is consistency. I think we’ve been asking for that for years. … It’s not the reason why you win or lose a game. So the main message is just to leave that part out of it. I think for us, it was about us being better as a team throughout the series.”

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