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 .