Phoenix throttled San Antonio. The 34-point margin was a franchise record.

The Merc hold the last playoff spot by a game over LA and 1.5 over Minny, whom they play Sunday night. "At this point, we're taking it as a one-game season," said coach Carrie Graf. "Right now, that one game is Minnesota."

In LA, the Sparks stayed in the hunt by beating Detroit. It's was Jellybean Bryant's first official game as coached, and, as promised, he stressed the fun.

"Tonight we had fun. We just went out there and played basketball," said Chamique Holdsclaw, giving some insight into the problems under Bibby. "I wouldn't say the fun was missing but … we know the position we're in. And you can't go to work and say, 'Oh, this is grueling.'"

"I think that teams take on the personality of their coaches. Coach Bibby was very disciplined, structured and serious, and that's how our team was," Lisa Leslie said. "Jellybean's loose and fun and kind of silly. Maybe we feel a little bit of relief. Or maybe I just do."