Mercury fall to Dream for third straight loss
Sep 6, 2016, 8:10 PM
ATLANTA (AP) — Angel McCoughtry had 27 points and eight rebounds, Tiffany Hayes scored five points in the final 30 seconds and the Atlanta Dream beat the Phoenix Mercury 91-87 on Tuesday night.
McCoughtry made a contested layup and hit a long jumper over Brittney Griner on consecutive Atlanta possessions for an 84-77 lead with 1:51 left. But Diana Taurasi answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Phoenix to 84-83.
Hayes converted a three-point play with 24 seconds left for an 89-85 lead and she made two free throws with 15 seconds left to seal it.
Bria Holmes added 18 points and Hayes finished with 14 points for Atlanta (15-14), which is ranked fifth in the AP power poll.
The Dream led 42-35 in the first half behind 16 points by McCoughtry.
Taurasi made four 3-pointers and scored 23 points for sixth-ranked Phoenix (13-17), which lost its third straight. Griner added 21 points, five rebounds and six blocks.