In Friday night's late game, two of the league's top scorers were in action as Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury hosted Sylvia Fowles and the Minnesota Lynx. With Griner's time on the court limited, it also limited her production in tonight's game. Thanks to Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota was able to capture an eight-point win. Here's a look at how the Lynx vs. Mercury game played out in favor of the visitors to the tune of a 91-83 final.
Game recap
It was "Diana Taurasi Night" in Phoenix for tonight's game, as the Mercury honored the WNBA's new all-time points leader.
However, Taurasi's team came up short in their latest effort, falling 91-83 to the Lynx. Despite a late three-pointer from Diana Taurasi to make it a two-point game with 16 seconds left, Minnesota pulled away. Closing out tonight's game were Slyvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson as they hit four-straight free throws to seal the Lynx victory.
Minnesota received a game-high 21 points from Maya Moore on 8-for-19 shooting. Moore also grabbed six rebounds and five assists for the performance to help lead her team. Fowles finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Brunson had seven points and 10 rebounds. Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus each finished in double-digits for the night.
For the losing side, it was a rough night for Brittney Griner.
The WNBA's leading scorer played just 20 minutes all night and was held to six points with three rebounds. Camille Little had 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Diana Taurasi and Danielle Robinson each finished with 15 points. The Mercury shot 44.6 percent for the night and had just seven turnovers.
However, the visitors shot 45.9 percent and despite 13 turnovers won the rebounding battle 40-32.
Much of that was due to Griner's foul trouble, limiting her availability on the court for tonight's contest to just 20 minutes.
Standings & what's next
With tonight's victory, the Minnesota Lynx move to 12-1 overall for the season. They continue to lead all teams in the standings, with a 1.5-games lead over the next-closest team, the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Lynx will take on those L.A. Sparks on July 6th in Minnesota, with game time scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN2.
The Phoenix Mercury's latest loss drops them to 7-6 overall which is good for third in the Western Conference and fifth overall in the WNBA standings. Keep in mind that the top eight teams qualify for the WNBA's postseason. Next up for the Mercury will be a 10 p.m. Eastern Time home game against the Mystics on Wednesday, July 5.