In a blatant attempt to give us typing injuries, every single team in the league played yesterday. We'll take the rest of the games like stair steps, a few at a time:

1. The visiting Stars put the clamps on Connecticut's starters, but they couldn't do much about Asjha Jones: the UConn alum led all scorers, and the Sun won the game from the line.

Jones' 22 tied a career high. Coach Thibault: "We threw her the ball almost every time down for about six minutes and told her to go."

Jones always comes off the bench, but she always scores; less expected contributions arrived from Le'Coe Willingham. Thibault: "Everybody talks about those shots she made, but the hustle plays she made on loose balls and rebounds were really important plays for momentum."

2. The Mercury keep giving speedy, exciting, close games, and keep on losing them in the closing seconds. It's enough to drive Merc fans to drink.

This time the pain came from Houston's Ndiaye-Diatta, whose midrange shot capped a come-from-behind run. Ndiaye-Diatta joined the team as an injury replacement after the All-Star break.

Van called it "a miracle win," which seems a bit strong. For much of the match, the Merc's zone defense created a three-point contest, in which Staley (5-11 from long range) kept up with Diana (4-10). (One of Staley's treys fell during a shot clock malfunction, while D was pointing, aggrieved, at the unmoving numbers.)

As usual, the Merc suffered on the boards. Coach Westhead says Houston got "what seemed like innumerable offensive rebounds": the last few cost Phoenix the game.

3. The Shock fell apart in Sacramento, in a game reminiscent of last July. The Monarchs avenged last week's hammering in Detroit. Brunson caught fire, sinking seven of nine: every player on Sac's roster scored.