Brittney Griner had 30 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the Washington Mystics 77-64 on Thursday night.
Phoenix, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, started the second half on a 21-5 run — with eight points apiece from Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith — to build a 60-49 lead.
Washington was held to just four points through the opening eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
Diggins-Smith finished with 17 points for Phoenix (12-10). Brianna Turner grabbed 14 rebounds. She was questionable to play after injuring her ankle in the last game. Diana Taurasi had six points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Taurasi needs two assists to join four others in WNBA history with 2,000.
Hamilton, Ont., native Kia Nurse added two points and collected a rebound for Phoenix.
Tina Charles scored 17 points for Washington (8-13). Charles passed Sue Bird (6,490) for sixth on the WNBA career scoring list. Cappie Pondexter is fifth with 6,811 points.
Ogwumike’s late putback lifts Sparks over Dream
Nneka Ogwumike had a putback of a missed 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to help the Los Angeles Sparks edge the Atlanta Dream 66-64 on Thursday night.
Kristi Toliver dribbled down the clock and attempted a long 3-pointer that hit off the back and front of the rim. Ogwumike grabbed the rebound in traffic and ignored the inadvertent shot-clock buzzer to put it off the glass and in.
Ogwumike finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for Los Angeles (9-13). Toliver and Amanda Zahui B. each added 10 points. Toliver passed Mwadi Mabika to become Los Angeles’ leader in made 3-pointers with 399.
Los Angeles led by 17 points in the second half, but went scoreless for four minutes in the fourth quarter as Atlanta pulled within 62-58.
Courtney Williams scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Atlanta (6-16). McDonald scored all 15 of her points in the second half.
On Tuesday, Toliver forced overtime with Atlanta on a last-second jumper and the Sparks pulled away for an 85-80 win.
Bonner powers Sun past Lynx for 3rd straight win
DeWanna Bonner scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Connecticut Sun beat the Minnesota Lynx 82-71 on Thursday night.
Bonner made 10 of 11 free throws — and Connecticut went 23 for 25 from the line — to help reach 30 points for the first time this season. It was her fifth double-double.
Jonquel Jones added 20 points and seven rebounds for Connecticut (17-6) despite being in foul trouble. The Sun turned it over 17 times but outrebounded the Lynx 31-23.
Sylvia Fowles led Minnesota (13-9) with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Layshia Clarendon added 15 points and Napheesa Collier scored 11.
Chatham, Ont., native Bridget Carleton scored six points for the Lynx while also contributing four assists and three rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
Fellow Canadian Natalie Achonwa of Guelph, Ont., chipped in two points off the bench for Minnesota.
Connecticut continues its five-game homestand on Tuesday against Las Vegas in a battle for sole possession of first place. Minnesota lost back-to-back games against Connecticut following an eight-game winning streak.
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