The Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks game nearly turned into a boxing match ... Brittney Griner squared up with Rickea Jackson after the hoopers got into a scuffle!
The Mercury -- who just locked in the 7 seed in the WNBA playoffs -- faced the Sparks on Tuesday at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles ... and tempers flared late in the first half.
Mercury guard Celeste Taylor makes a free throw with only a few seconds left in the first half ... when it appears Griner threw an elbow at Jackson, who was trying to box her out.
That didn't go over well with the Sparks rookie ... and she confronted Griner right on the court.
Griner wasn't havin' it ... and the two started shoving each other near the Mercury bench.
Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/YxUdsNEKYE
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) September 18, 2024
At one point, Brittney squared up and looked ready to throw punches. Thankfully, teammates and coaches separated the women, and no haymakers were thrown.
But, make no mistake, Griner and Jackson were pissed! In fact, Diana Taurasi needed to use all her might to restrain BG, who kept trash-talkin' Jackson, as she walked away.
Griner and Jackson were both ejected from the game.
It was the first ejection for Jackson -- the 4th overall pick in the 2024 draft -- who's been having a solid rookie season, averaging 13.2 points and 3.8 rebounds a game.
Unfortunately, the L.A. Sparks have the worst record in the league and will miss the WNBA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Griner and the Mercury will face 5th-seed Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Sunday.