Paige Bueckers poured in a season-high 31 points, 24 of those in the first half, to carry the Dallas Wings to a definitive 85-70 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday in a Commissioner’s Cup game in Arlington, Texas.
Dallas (8-4, 3-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play) built a nine-point lead at halftime behind Bueckers’ hot shooting and never looked back, expanding its advantage to as many as 22 points late in the third quarter.
The Mercury culled the deficit to 75-59 with seven minutes to play and then to 80-70 after a layup by DeWanna Bonner with 1:28 remaining but would get no closer.
The Wings won for the fifth time in their past six games while Phoenix dropped its second straight game and concluded a four-game road trip 2-2.
Azzi Fudd added 17 points for Dallas and Jessica Shepard racked up a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Wings shot 52.1 percent from the floor but made just four of their 18 3-point attempts.
Reserve Lexi Held led the Mercury (4-10, 2-3) with 17 points while Kahleah Copper added 13 points.
The Wings jumped on Phoenix in the early minutes, building an 11-4 advantage when Fudd scored on a layup at the 5:24 mark of the first quarter. The Mercury responded, drawing to within 21-20 after a pair of free throws by Natasha Mack with 48 seconds left in the opening period before Bueckers’ 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining allowed Dallas to forge a 24-20 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Dallas led 30-28 three and a half minutes into the second period before reeling off six straight points, the final two coming on a driving layup by Bueckers. The Wings pushed the margin to a dozen points on a Bueckers 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining in the first half but Held answered with a basket from beyond the arc to bring Phoenix to within 45-36 at the break.
Bueckers racked up 24 points before halftime on 11 of 14 shooting and led all scorers. Dallas outshot the Mercury 55.6 percent to 37.5 percent in the first half. Held’s 11 points off the bench paced the Mercury.
Dallas pulled away in the first few minutes of the third quarter, going up 60-42 after Bueckers canned another 3-pointer at the 5:15 mark. The Wings pushed the margin to 22 points on a layup by Shepard with 1:37 to play in the third and waltzed home from there.
–Field Level Media
