Paige Bueckers and Kahleah Copper score 30 and 31 as the Mercury beat the Wings, 87–86

Game story

Paige Bueckers and Kahleah Copper scored 30 and 31 as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Dallas Wings 87–86 on Monday, September 21.

Game Highlights

Dallas Wings vs. Phoenix Mercury | FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS | September 21, 2026

Wings86FinalMercury87 Play highlights

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Who stood out

Kahleah Copper: 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting (1-of-3 from three), 10-of-13 at the line in 34 minutes, a +10 in her minutes. By the observed shot locations, 6-of-6 at the rim, 3-of-6 in the paint outside the restricted area and 1-of-3 from above the break. She entered averaging 20.9 points this season; this finish was 10.1 above that mark. She had averaged 23 over her previous 10, putting this game 8 above that recent pace; that recent average was already 2.1 above her season mark.

Paige Bueckers: 30 points and 7 assists on 12-of-22 shooting (4-of-5 from three), 2-of-2 at the line in 33 minutes, a -1 in her minutes. By the observed shot locations, 6-of-11 from midrange, 2-of-6 in the paint outside the restricted area and 3-of-4 from above the break. She entered averaging 20.4 points this season; this finish was 9.6 above that mark. She had averaged 22.2 over her previous 10, putting this game 7.8 above that recent pace.

Jessica Shepard: 17 points, 19 rebounds and 6 assists on 5-of-15 shooting, 7-of-12 at the line in 36 minutes, a -7 in her minutes. By the observed shot locations, 1-of-8 in the paint outside the restricted area, 3-of-5 at the rim and 1-of-2 from midrange. She entered averaging 10.8 rebounds this season; this finish was 8.2 above that mark. She had averaged 8.4 over her previous 10, putting this game 10.6 above that recent pace.

How it happened

It did not start that way: the Wings led 26–19 after one quarter and by as many as 14. The fourth quarter was the swing — the Mercury won it 26–18 — and the Wings led 47–43 at halftime. The game had nine lead changes; the Mercury’s largest lead was 1.

The Mercury’s bench outscored the Wings’, 27–15. For the Wings, Paige Bueckers scored 30 (12-of-22) and Jessica Shepard 17 (5-of-15).

The Mercury made 28-67 from the field (42%) and 5-21 from three; the Wings 31-74 (42%). Turnovers ran 5–9, and points off turnovers 6–14 in the Wings’ favor — the margin came from shooting, not possession control. Rebounds went 32–42, points in the paint 40–22.

What it means

A reason to be cautious about carrying this game forward: Kahleah Copper’s previous-10 average (23) already sat 2.1 above her season mark, so against recent form the game is a smaller outlier than the season averages make it look; the Mercury gave up more points off turnovers than they scored, 14–6. One game is still one game.

After the result the Mercury were 16-27 and the Wings 26-17 (team schedules through September 21). The Mercury’s 87 was 2.6 above the 84.4 a game they averaged entering it.

This did not come against one of the league’s softest defenses: the Wings allow 85.3 points a game (standings as of Sep 29), 11th-most of 15.

Next up: GS at DAL on Sep 30, where the market consensus has the Valkyries favored over the Wings by 4.5 with a total of 155.5 (PropBetEdge capture, Sep 29, 11 books). Player props enter the board inside 36 hours of tip.