Taurasi, Griner, Bonner combine for 82; Mercury beat Aces
Aug 1, 2018, 9:37 PM | Updated: 9:37 pm
Las Vegas Aces center Kelsey Bone, right, fouls Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner during the first half of a WNBA basketball game Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
(AP Photo/John Locher)
LAS VEGAS — Diana Taurasi scored 37 points, Brittney Griner had 25 points and 11 rebounds and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Las Vegas Aces 104-93 on Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
DeWanna Bonner added 20 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix (16-12), which had lost seven of its last eight games. The Mercury moved into a fourth-place tie in the playoff standings with Los Angeles and Washington.
Phoenix had its lead trimmed to 77-74 after Las Vegas scored seven of the first nine fourth-quarter points. But Taurasi and Briann January made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions for a 98-85 lead with 3:23 to go.
Griner had 18 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the first half and Taurasi also scored 18 points — with 11 straight makes at the free-throw line. Taurasi finished 17 of 18 at the stripe matching her career best in both categories. Griner made 9 of 14 from the line as Phoenix shot 82.9 percent.
A’ja Wilson scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half for Las Vegas (12-14). Kayla McBride had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Aces were just 33-of-84 shooting (39 percent) from the field, including 2 of 11 from 3-point range.
