let's be real: this was a bad loss for Dallas, and the worst part is how cleanly it was there to be taken. The Wings led by as many as 14 points, had the game in their hands, and still walked out with an 87-86 defeat to Phoenix. In a league where every possession matters, how do you let a six-game winning streak get ripped away after building that kind of cushion?

Phoenix did what good teams do when the clock gets tight. Kahleah Copper took over late, scoring 16 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter and burying the go-ahead layup with 2.4 seconds left. That is the kind of closing burst that changes a game in a heartbeat. Alyssa Thomas was right there in the middle of it too, finishing with 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for her fifth triple-double of the season. That is not noise. That is control.

Dallas had chances. A foul call against Phoenix was overturned with 13.3 seconds left, the Mercury won the jump ball, and then Copper finished the sequence with the backdoor cut along the baseline. Then came the final look, and Phoenix forced Paige Bueckers into a difficult shot at the buzzer that did not hit the rim. That is the whole story right there: Phoenix made the last play, Dallas did not. What else do you call it when the final possession ends with no rim, no rebound, and no comeback?

Bueckers still put up 30 points and seven assists, and Jessica Shepard added 17 points and 19 rebounds. Bueckers reached 30 points for the fourth time this season and set a Dallas record for points in a season with 853. That matters. It absolutely does. But a big individual night does not erase a team loss, especially not one that drops Dallas to 26-17, leaves the Wings in seventh place in the WNBA standings, and sends them into one final regular-season game before the playoffs begin.

Phoenix, meanwhile, improved to 16-27 after trailing 74-63 early in the fourth. That is the part Dallas cannot ignore. The Mercury were down, the Wings had the edge, and Phoenix still found the finish. That is the difference between a team surviving the moment and a team getting swallowed by it.

Stephen A. Spliff