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.
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The Dallas Wings had a lot of momentum entering Friday’s matchup against the Golden State Valkyries. This is after Paige Bueckers and Co. blew out the Seattle Storm on Tuesday, 87-63, in their first game back following the WNBA All-Star break. The Wings, however, came crashing back down to earth on Friday with a disappointing loss to the Valkyries at Chase Center, 86-76. Paige Bueckers Comes Up Big for the Wings Bueckers did all she could for Dallas in this one, dropping a team-high 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, to go along with one rebound, six assists, four steals and two triples in 37 minutes of action. While Bueckers’ effort ultimately came up short, the Wings took to social media shortly after the loss to announce the team’s decision to name the rookie as the Player of the Game. “Paige is your @childrens Player of the Game tonight ” the team posted on X. Bueckers' Effort Not Enough for the Wings Bueckers has been one of the most consistent players on the roster for the Wings amid what has been another forgettable season. Entering Friday’s matchup, the 23-year-old has averaged 18.2 points on 44.9% shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.5 minutes per contest. Nevertheless, Dallas has still struggled mightily this year, and Thursday’s defeat was their 18th loss of the campaign. They are now 7-18 on the season and are sitting at the second-to-last spot in the league, above only the 3-20 Connecticut Sun. The Wings will be back in action in a tough back-to-back set as they battle the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, followed by a matchup against the defending champions, the New York Liberty, on Monday.
The Kings have withdrawn their two-way qualifying offer to forward Isaiah Crawford, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s official NBA transaction log. Crawford signed a two-way deal with Sacramento last July after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. The 23-year-old logged just 46 total minutes in 15 games at the NBA level as a rookie, but was a key part of the rotation for the Stockton Kings in the G League, posting averages of 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 31.5 minutes per game across 37 outings, with a shooting line of .471/.401/.789. Crawford received a two-way qualifying offer from the Kings last month, making him a restricted free agent, and the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw those QOs passed on July 13. However, qualifying offers can still be rescinded with the player’s consent, so Crawford signed off on the move him to make him unrestricted. The Kings have signed a pair of players – Dylan Cardwell and Isaiah Stevens – to two-year, two-way contracts since the new league year began on July 1. Rescinding Crawford’s qualifying offer suggests the team has other plans for its third two-way slot.
The favorite to win Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will have quite a mountain to climb. Denny Hamlin, who was fastest in practice at IMS on Saturday and is searching for his first Brickyard 400 win, suffered a vicious impact during Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session. Hamlin was the last car to make a lap during the session, but the No. 11 Toyota broke loose on the exit of turn 2. After tapping the outside wall, he spun into the grass before making hard contact with the inside wall. Hamlin did not produce a qualifying time and will be forced to go to a backup car for Sunday's race. The 58-time Cup Series winner will start last (39th) on Sunday. Hamlin did climb out of the car after the accident. Meanwhile, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, secured the pole position for Sunday's race. The top five in qualifying were swept by Toyota, with 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace joining Briscoe on the front row. The Brickyard 400 will go green shortly after 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, with coverage on TNT, the IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The Green Bay Packers offense was dealt a bit of a blow early in training camp. Friday, third-round rookie wide receiver Savion Williams was a spectator for practice after suffering a concussion. Williams, chosen by the Packers with the No. 87 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, is aiming to climb the depth chart at a crowded wide receiver position this summer. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Williams ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.48 seconds during the NFL Combine and has the profile of potentially becoming a reliable possession receiver and after-the-catch weapon for quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense. Reaching those benchmarks and climbing the depth chart will have to wait, though, as Williams works his way through the concussion protocol and back onto the field for practices during training camp and the preseason this summer.
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