Sun cruise to road victory over Mercury
Brionna Jones scored 20 points and Marina Mabrey added 19 off the bench as the visiting Connecticut Sun extended their winning streak to three games with an easy 88-69 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday.
DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points and Tyasha Harris had 12 as the Sun (27-10) won for the eighth time in their last 11 games while improving to 5-3 since clinching a playoff spot on Aug. 24. Alyssa Thomas had 11 assists.
Connecticut finished 4-0 this season against Phoenix, winning each game by double digits.
The Sun remained a game behind second-place Minnesota, and they will host the Lynx on Thursday after playing their final road game of the regular season at Las Vegas on Sunday.
Brittney Griner logged 26 points and nine rebounds and Natasha Cloud added 17 points for the Mercury (17-20), who clinched a playoff spot on Sept. 3. Phoenix was without leading scorer Kahleah Copper (21.6 points per game) because of a back injury, as she missed a game for the first time this season.
Phoenix's Diana Taurasi shot 2-for-10 from the floor while scoring seven points.
The Sun led by as many as seven points in the first quarter and had a 22-17 edge at the end of the opening period. The gap grew as high as 11 points in the second quarter, and Connecticut took a 46-38 lead into halftime behind 13 points from Mabrey and 10 from Jones.
The Sun established firm control with a 22-0 run in the third quarter and took a 70-44 lead into the fourth. Phoenix shot just 15 percent (3-for-20) from the floor in the third quarter and missed all 10 of its attempts from 3-point range.
The Mercury finished 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) from 3-point range in the game, while the Sun went 8-for-26 (30.9 percent) from long distance.
Connecticut is 14-5 on the road this season, second best in the league to the New York Liberty's 15-4 mark.
Phoenix visits the Chicago Sky on Sunday.
