Brittney Griner had 26 points with 10 rebounds and Diana Taurasi scored 25 with six assists as the visiting Phoenix Mercury snapped a three-game skid with Sunday’s 93-88 win over the Chicago Sky.
The two WNBA legends scored 11 of Phoenix’s 16 fourth-quarter points. With the Mercury (18-20) leading 87-86, Taurasi hit a basket from the elbow with 2:10 remaining in regulation, then Griner followed with a bucket to provide the final cushion for Phoenix in what was a tight game throughout.
Natasha Cloud had 18 points with 11 assists and Sophie Cunningham scored 13 for the playoff-bound Mercury, who shot 54.5 percent to win for the just the second time in eight games.
Chennedy Carter had 20 points, Michaela Onyenwere scored 18 with nine rebounds and Rachel Banham added 17 points and seven assists for the Sky (13-25), who finished 14-of-25 from 3-point range but totaled 31 points in the second half.
Chicago, which has lost three straight and 10 of 12, is tied for the final playoff spot with Atlanta and Washington, which currently holds the tiebreaker.
Both teams were sizzling from the floor, especially beyond the arc, in the first half. Chicago set a season high by making 10 of its 14 first-half 3s, with Banham going 5-of-6 from distance for 15 points through the first two quarters.
Phoenix, meanwhile, went 8-of-16 from 3, which Taurasi (13 first-half points) and Cunningham (11) each hitting three. Griner scored 15 in the first half for the Mercury, who shot 58.3 during the first 20 minutes but trailed 57-55 at the break.
Taurasi had six points and Griner scored four during a 10-0 run midway through the third that gave Phoenix a 69-64 lead. However, the Sky used the 3-point shot to cut that deficit as Dana Evans and Carter each hit from distance to trail 77-76 entering the fourth quarter.
Chicago rookie Kamilla Cardoso was limited to nine minutes, all in the first half, due to a shoulder injury. She had just two points and three rebounds.
Mercury leading scorer and former Sky star Kahleah Copper (21.6 ppg) missed a second straight contest with a back issue.
–Field Level Media