Phoenix Mercury vs Los Angeles Sparks Final Score & Over/Under Result — Jul 22, 2026

Kahleah Copper's 21 points and Alyssa Thomas's orchestrated 15 assists propelled Phoenix to a 86–82 road win, but the Mercury's offensive efficiency masked what was ultimately a defensive showcase that crushed the pregame total. The combined 168 points landed well south of the 176.5 line, an 8.5-point UNDER that DAGGER called at pregame odds. The first half offered few hints of constraint—Los Angeles and Phoenix combined for a robust 84 points across two quarters, with the second frame particularly explosive at 47 combined points. But the second half told a different story: just 84 points across 24 minutes, split evenly between a sluggish third quarter (36 combined) and a furious fourth (48 combined) that arrived too late to push the total higher.

Rae Burrell led the Sparks with 20 points, and Dearica Hamby added 18 points and 10 rebounds, yet Los Angeles could not overcome Phoenix's balance. Thomas's 11 rebounds and 15 assists orchestrated a Mercury bench that included Monique Akoa Makani's 14 points. The fourth-quarter spike—48 combined points—came when both teams abandoned caution, but by then the damage to the over had long been done. Phoenix's recent lean toward low-volume scoring (83.5 per game) paired with Los Angeles's defensive deterioration (97.7 allowed) appeared in the final total, even if the halftime symmetry suggested otherwise. DAGGER's live call missed, but the pregame under cashed.