In what may have been Diana Taurasi’s final game in her hometown of Los Angeles, her Mercury won a rough game Tuesday night that saw Phoenix veteran Brittney Griner and Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson sent off.

Emotions ran high in a duel that had no significance for the table. With their 85-81 victory, the Mercury improved their record to 19-20, but had already secured 7th place in the playoffs.

The Sparks, currently 7-32, were eliminated from the playoffs last week.

Still, the long-standing rivalry between Phoenix and Los Angeles still seems to be hot, even if the stakes aren’t high. Taurasi, 42, has played 20 of those seasons with the Mercury.

After scoring 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds against the Sparks, she was asked if she was sure this season was “the right one” for her.

“I don’t know,” said Taurasi, who attended Don Lugo High School in Chino, Calif., and has attended WNBA games and NBA contests at Crypto.com Arena, the former Staples Center, for many years. “The last few weeks have been a little nerve-wracking for me. I don’t want to make any emotional, hasty decisions. I know the end is near. When that will be, I don’t know.”

“I’ve always been a person who just focuses on what’s next. And that’s practice tomorrow and then (against) Seattle on Thursday. I think when the season is over, I’ll reflect and get advice from the people closest to me.”

The Mercury promoted Thursday’s final regular-season game against the visiting Storm with the slogan “If this is it…” – in case this is indeed the last chance to see Taurasi in the downtown Phoenix arena where she was the star for two decades.

Taurasi isn’t ready to say that herself, and she appreciates that the Mercury didn’t ask her to commit one way or the other.

“Especially when you’ve been somewhere for 20 years… I’m grateful that we can have these conversations and I can really do it the way I want to do it,” she said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people and someone once told me, ‘Sometimes you can’t choose your ending.’ So when it’s over, it’s over. It’s been a fun journey.”

With neither Phoenix nor fifth-seeded Seattle having anything on the line Thursday, it’s uncertain how often Phoenix’s core players will play. The Mercury will then face the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the playoffs, which begin Sunday.

The Lynx will host the first two games of the best-of-three series, so Phoenix must win at least once in Minneapolis to secure a home playoff game.

For Griner – who along with Taurasi won the 2014 WNBA championship and Olympic gold medals for Team USA in 2016, 2021 and 2024 – her evening ended early Tuesday.

With 18.1 seconds left in the second quarter and the Mercury at the free throw line, Griner and Jackson got into an altercation while trying to grab a rebound. They exchanged words and briefly scuffled before being separated and sent off the court.

Sophie Cunningham of the Mercury and Crystal Dangerfield of the Sparks also received technical fouls following the incident.

Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts and Los Angeles coach Curt Miller said they weren’t entirely sure what happened between Griner and Jackson and would have to review the footage. The WNBA is also expected to review the footage.

“It all happened so fast,” Miller said. “My first words to Rickea were, ‘Hang in there.’ I haven’t had much contact with her yet. We’ll see exactly what happened.”