MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Diana Taurasi hit five 3-pointers and finished with a
season-high 29 points to help the Phoenix Mercury snap a 13-game skid against
Minnesota with a 95-85 win over the Lynx on Friday night.
Phoenix hadn’t beaten the Lynx since August 2015 and won in Minnesota for the
first time since the 2014 season.
DeWanna Bonner added 24 points and Brittney Griner finished with 21 points, nine
rebounds and three blocks for Phoenix.
Minnesota has lost three in a row for the first time since June 2016. The Lynx
(2-4) didn’t lose their third game of last season until Aug. 6.
Taurasi made a layup and Brittney Griner hit back-to-back baseline jumpers to
give Phoenix a 65-59 lead late in the third quarter and the Mercury never again
trailed.
Moore and Tanisha Wright each hit a 3 during an 8-0 run by Minnesota that made
it 75-all early in the fourth, but the Lynx went without a field goal for the
next five-plus minutes. Phoenix used on a 12-3 run, sparked by back-to-back 3s
by Taurasi, during that stretch to take a nine-point lead when January hit two
free throws with 3:26 to play.
Moore’s offensive rebound and putback pulled Minnesota within six, but Taurasi
answered with a driving layup to push the lead back to eight points with two
minutes left and the Lynx got no closer.
Moore scored 25 points, while Sylvia Fowles had 16 points and 11 rebounds for
Minnesota.
