On Saturday, the Phoenix Mercury were forced to face the Toronto Tempo without the services of six-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas, much to the now public chagrin of her coach, Nate Tibbetts, and teammates, including fellow All-Star Kahleah Copper.Thomas served the one-game suspension the WNBA imposed after her altercation on Wednesday with Indiana Fever All-Star guard Caitlin Clark. No foul was called on the play, but it subjected Thomas to massive public scrutiny and led the WNBA to retroactively issue a flagrant foul.Before the Mercury’s eventual 89-80 win over Toronto, behind 27 points from Copper, Tibbetts spoke publicly for the first time and took the chance to defend his star, as well as air his grievances with the WNBA’s response and Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White’s comments.“The people in this league know who AT is. She’s a competitor, she’s a winner, and she’s tough. The one thing she is not is cheap,” Tibbetts told reporters. “To say that we had two cheap shots in that game, to me, is ridiculous. Steph knows AT. She got the opportunity to coach AT for two years, and she knows what AT stands for and what she’s about.”After Wednesday’s game, White called the lack of a call “egregious” and referred to Thomas’ actions as a “cheap shot.”In Wednesday’s game, Clark lost her footing with the ball and fell near the free-throw line against the Mercury. Thomas then fell on top of her while grabbing for the ball, and her fist appeared to push into Clark’s throat before Thomas stepped over her as she got up. The WNBA reviewed the play and determined Thomas acted “recklessly” and “committed a non-basketball act,” retroactively issuing a flagrant 2 foul and a suspension.Kahleah Copper scored 27 points as the Mercury, without Alyssa Thomas, defeated the Tempo on Saturday. (John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)The Mercury ended up winning 111-109, thanks to 28 points from Copper. Thomas finished with 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Clark finished with 19 points and eight assists.