Alyssa Thomas scored a career-high 29 points and added eight rebounds as the host Phoenix Mercury climbed closer to the league-leading Minnesota Lynx with a 79-71 victory Wednesday afternoon.
Thomas scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, when the Mercury closed the game on a 19-4 run.
Monique Akoa Makani contributed 13 points, DeWanna Bonner recorded seven points and six rebounds in her return to the Mercury, while Sami Whitcomb tallied 10 points and six assists for Phoenix (14-6), which has won eight of 10.
Courtney Williams registered 21 points and six rebounds and Napheesa Collier chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds for the Lynx (17-3), who had a five-game winning streak broken in the first game of a four-game, six-day road trip.
The Lynx had won the first two games in the season series. The teams, 1-2 in the league standings, will meet for the fourth and final time July 16 in Minneapolis.
Collier, the WNBA’s leading scorer, had 14 points in the second half after taking only three field goal attempts in the first half. She entered averaging 24.3 points per game.
The Lynx used a 17-6 run to take a 57-52 lead after the third quarter, as Collier and Williams combined for 14 points.
But after Williams beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer for a 67-60 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Mercury gradually took over behind Thomas.
The Lynx again kept the Mercury at bay from the perimeter. The Mercury, averaging a league-high 10.5 three-pointers per game, misfired on 15 of 16 attempts from three-point range and have made only 9-of-62 in the season series.
Minnesota enjoyed a 36-35 rebounding edge, and their 10 offensive rebounds led to 19 second-chance points. Alanna Smith corralled nine rebounds and Jessica Shepard added seven.
But the Lynx made only 42.9 percent of their field goal attempts and had 18 total turnovers, seven more than the Mercury.
The Mercury shot 46.6 percent from the floor, the first time they shot more than 40 percent against the Lynx this season.
Bonner’s three-point play on a lob pass from Thomas gave the Mercury a 40-37 halftime lead.
Thomas and Bonner, who announced their engagement at the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game, played their first game together since both left the Connecticut Sun after last season.
–Field Level Media
