Oct 2, 2020; Bradenton, Florida, USA; A game ball waits on a sanitation cart during game 1 of the WNBA finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the Seattle Storm at IMG Academy. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-Imagn Images Kahleah Copper scored 28 points to help Phoenix defeat the visiting Atlanta Dream 74-66 on Tuesday as the Mercury clinched a playoff berth.
Phoenix (17-17) ended a three-game losing streak that opened a five-game homestand, having fallen to some of the WNBA’s top competition: first- and second-place New York and Minnesota along with reigning league champion Las Vegas. After enduring slow starts in all three, the Mercury got off to a quick start on Tuesday.
Phoenix surged to a 15-point halftime lead, thanks to a 14-3 run to close out the second quarter.
Atlanta (11-22) chipped away at the deficit in the third quarter with Rhyne Howard leading the way. Howard scored a game-high 31 points, including two on a layup with 4:12 left in the fourth quarter that cut the Mercury’s lead to four points.
The Dream could get no closer.
Phoenix’s Britney Griner scored attacking the rim and on a 3-pointer in consecutive possessions, both set up by Copper assists. On the Mercury’s next time down the floor, Griner rebounded a Sophie Cunningham miss and converted 1 of 2 free throws to push the lead to eight points.
That gave the Mercury all the cushion they needed to seal the win. Griner finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Diana Taurasi dished a team-high five assists to go with her 13 points.
Tina Charles, who posted 12 points and 12 rebounds, was the only Atlanta scorer to join Howard in double figures. The Dream bench produced just two points.
Phoenix held Atlanta to 24-of-68 shooting (35.3 percent) from the floor, including 7-for-25 (28 percent) from 3-point range. The Mercury similarly struggled from deep, going 6-for-25 (24 percent), but they shot 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) from the floor.
The Mercury went 22-for-26 as a team at the foul line, while the Dream were 11-for-14.
The loss was not too costly for Atlanta in its pursuit of the WNBA’s final playoff berth. Chicago also fell on Tuesday, dropping a 90-71 decision to Las Vegas. The Dream and Sky are deadlocked with matching records heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
Phoenix moved within a half-game of the sixth-place Indiana Fever.
–Field Level Media
