close
close

Mercury 85-81 Sparks (September 17, 2024) Match Summary

LOS ANGELES — — Brittney Griner scored 14 points before being ejected after a brawl, Natasha Cloud had 13 points and 12 assists and the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 85-81 on Tuesday night.

Griner and Sparks rookie standout Rickea Jackson were thrown out after shoving each other into rebounding position on a Mercury free throw in the closing seconds of the first half. The Mercury, who were told before the game they would face second-seeded Minnesota on Sunday when the playoffs began, trailed by eight points at halftime but took control in the third quarter.

Sophia Cunningham also scored 14 points for the Mercury (19-20). Diana Taurasi added 13 and Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan had 10.

Dearica Hamba had 21 points for the last-place Sparks (7-32), who suffered their eighth straight loss in an injury-plagued season. Li Yueru scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Kia Nurse had 10 points.

Phoenix converted 20 turnovers into 31 points to overcome a 49-25 rebounding deficit.

Natasha Mack’s three-point play put the Mercury up 71-56 with 7:32 to play, but the Sparks scored 10 straight points to pull within five on a Hamby layup with five minutes left.

Cunningham extended the lead to 13 with a 3-pointer with 3:44 left, but Hamby sank a 3 to make it 79-74 with two minutes left. Herbert-Harrigan ended that threat with a 3 and the Mercury closed it out.

After the first quarter the score was still tied (14-14), but at halftime the Sparks took a 44-36 lead.

After Celeste Taylor made a free throw for Phoenix to cut the lead to 43-36, Griner and Jackson got tangled up, exchanged words and shoves, and looked set for more before others stepped in. After review, both players were ejected, and LA’s Crystal Dangerfield and Cunningham were given technical fouls.

Griner scored 7 of 8 times for 14 points in 14 minutes and Jackson played all but the final 18.8 seconds, making 2 of 11 points with four free throws.

Phoenix scored the first seven points of the second half, tied the score at 46-46 on a 3-pointer by Taurasi and took the lead for good with her own free throw, starting her own five-point streak that made it 53-48.

The Mercury led by as many as 14 points and entered the fourth quarter with a 64-54 lead after outscoring the Sparks 28-10. Phoenix was 9 of 18 in the quarter to 4 of 18 for the Sparks, who committed nine turnovers.

——

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball