Brittney Griner’s 29 points and 11 rebounds led the host Phoenix Mercury to a 78-72 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.
Griner shot 12 of 18 from the field, while Diana Taurasi went seven of 13 from the floor, including including two of six from three-point range, to finish with 22 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds.
Moriah Jefferson chipped in 11 points and eight assists for the Mercury (4-14), who ended a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 11 games.
The Mercury shot 30 of 63 (47.6 per cent) from the field, including five of 17 from three-point range. Phoenix outrebounded the Sparks 37-30.
Los Angeles (7-12) were led by Nneka Ogwumike, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Jordin Canada added 16 points. Azura Stevens chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, while Jasmine Thomas made 10 points for the Sparks, who have dropped five straight games.
The Sparks shot 26 of 70 (37.1 per cent) from the field, including eight of 21 from beyond the arc. Trailing 68-57 with less than five minutes left, the Sparks went on a 13-4 run to pull to within 72-70 after Stevens split a pair of free throws with 1:21 remaining.
Destanni Henderson stole the ball from Griner with 1:02 to go, but the Mercury got the ball back when Griner won a jump ball against Stevens after Phoenix won a coach’s challenge on a Taurasi foul that was overturned. Taurasi made it a four-point game with a pair of free throws with 45.1 seconds remaining.
After Canada’s two free throws tied the game at 33 with 3:43 left in the second quarter, the Mercury closed the period on a 9-3 run to take a 42-36 half-time advantage. Griner had 16 points before the break for Phoenix, while Ogwumike led the Sparks with 12.
Elsewhere, Rhyne Howard scored 23 of her 32 points in the second half and Cheyenne Parker had 18 with 11 rebounds as the Atlanta Dream won at Chicago for the second time in three nights with an 88-77 victory over the Sky.
Kelsey Plum scored a game-high 40 points on just 18 shot attempts as the Las Vegas Aces ended the Minnesota Lynx’s five-game winning streak in emphatic fashion with a 113-89 rout in Minneapolis, while Arike Ogunbowale poured in 28 points – including 14 in the fourth quarter – as the visiting Dallas Wings held off the Indiana Fever 77-76.
The other game on Sunday saw DeWanna Bonner heat up from the perimeter on the way to 28 points as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Washington Mystics 92-84.
