Anyone who has watched the Sparks this season knows that their home finale went pretty much as you might have expected.

The Sparks got off to a good start, building a lead on the boards that led to a respectable 12-2 advantage in second chances, giving them an eight-point lead going into halftime. Then came an absolutely horrific third quarter, as the Phoenix Mercury came back with a bang to beat the Sparks 85-81, handing them their eighth straight loss and tying a franchise record to close out their home opener.

“It was that snowball effect again that we talked about,” Sparks head coach Curt Miller said. “The offensive inefficiency, the offensive turnovers, a difficult shooting night caused us to lose some of our defensive focus and intensity.”

After an up-and-down first quarter, the Sparks opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run and took control of the game, thanks in large part to strong performances from substitutes Li Yueru and Zia Cooke, who were tied with Dearica Hamby for the team lead with nine points each at halftime. Rickea Jackson also slowly got into her stride in the second half, getting to the free throw line and sinking four of four perfect free throws.

“I’m really thankful for my coaching staff and all my teammates. They try to help me every game and every practice,” said Yueru, who recorded her first career double-double with career highs in points (19) and rebounds (12). “I feel like I’ve really grown up.”

The Sparks were in complete control of the game. Brittney Griner was the only Mercury player with more than five points (14) in the first half. But in the final seconds before halftime, the mood changed when Griner elbowed Jackson, who took offense. They got at each other’s throats and shoved each other. After a lengthy official review, double technical fouls were called and Jackson and Griner were ejected from the game.

Almost on cue, things started to crumble for the Sparks as the second half began. The Mercury got off to a quick start with a 10-2 run to tie the Sparks’ lead and ended the quarter with a 9-4 run that pushed the lead to double digits. In Griner’s absence, it was 20-year veteran Diana Taurasi (13 points, three rebounds, five assists), Sophie Cunningham (14 points, three rebounds, two assists) and Natasha Cloud (13 points, 12 assists) who led the Mercury.

“To Phoenix’s credit, they made it ugly,” Miller said. “They played a lot of zone, they ran around and they pressured without BG. I thought we immediately backed off in the third quarter and got a little hesitant against the zone. I didn’t think the first unit shared the ball particularly well.”

In his postgame comments, Miller praised Taurasi as one of the greatest players of all time and called her one of the torchbearers of the WNBA.

“I don’t know if that was really Diana’s last regular-season road game, but she has meant so much to this league,” he said. “She continues to play at an extremely high level. … The GOAT gets mentioned a lot in sports these days, but he’s really one of the best to ever do it. And the longevity with which she’s done it is really remarkable.”

The third quarter, however, did not go well for the Sparks. They had eight turnovers, as many as in the first half. In total, they gave up 31 points from 20 turnovers as the ball and the game continued to slip away from them.

After the final whistle sounded, sealing the defeat and a miserable home record of 5-15 this season, Azura Stevens took a minute to address the crowd in the Crypto.com Arena.

“I can promise you that every single one of us will be in the gym in the offseason and we will get better,” Stevens said. “Mark my words, next year will be different.”